A Crescent Moon and Golden Sun
by Liliana Dragonshard
Summary: "Monster!" "Run away!" "God help us all!" Everyone fears me, but I didn't do anything wrong. They try to hunt me down as if I were some sort of terrible monster. I'm just trying to protect my 8-year-brother from sharing my awful, terrible fate. I only want someone to see me for who I am; a sweet, creative 15-year-old girl who wants a families love.(Rated T 4 blood
1. When Loved Ones Fall, We Fall Harder

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**This idea has been bouncing around in my head for the last week or so, so let's get on with it. Two OC's, Ralph, Felix, the Nicelanders, Sargent Calhoun, Vanillope von Schweets, and all the rest.**

**Please tell me what ya' think. Rated 'T' for descriptions of blood and injuries. This chapter is also somewhat like a summery, or at least a back-story. Of sorts. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: **When Loved ones Fall, we Fall Harder

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_Sky Journals, __Entry 1, Moon_

_I should probably start with introductions._

_My name is Crescent. Crescent Moon Sky. I'm 14. I have chin-length dark brown hair that has silver highlights streaked here and there at random. My eyes are a glowing silver. My clothes are rather average. Tawny buckskin leggings and shirt, moose skin moccasins and a furry cloak made out of a silver wolf's pelt, that goes from around my shoulders to just barely above my ankles._

_My little brother is Gold. Golden Sun Sky. He's 8 years old, with short light brown hair with streaks of gold that seem placed at random. He wears the same outfit as me, his cloak made from a golden foxes pelt, and bright, golden eyes._

_We have searched for an escape ever since we got into this DS game. We were normal kids, fiddling around with our cousins game, when we suddenly found ourselves inside. We were magic, and in a sense, we still are. We have what Gold calls Were-cat forms._

_I can transform into a tawny mountain lioness, able to move on two legs or four, my front paws able to grip and grab like hands. I have wings when I become_

_the Mountain Lioness, that blends in with my fur so well that you would never know I had them until I took off into the sky. My eyes remain silver, but with a cat's pupil._

_I am not as large as the other mountain lions in the game, making me a teenager by their standards and the humans._

_Gold becomes a tiger cub, his bright orange fur striped with black, contrasting with his pale white underbelly. He has full use of his paws as hands, but instead of wings, his dewclaws, the thumb-like part of a cats paw, is filled with a venom, that has special properties, that change slightly when his emotions change. His eyes are still gold, with a cats pupil._

_My natural form is my Lioness form, and Golds is his human form. When we first came, that drove a small wedge between us. The humans job are to man the settlements and provide food, shelter, and whatever else the first-person-player needs during game-time. The animals, magic or not, live in the forest, other than house-cats and dogs._

_The other magic creatures, like wizards, witches, vampires, werewolves, whatever normally steer clear of the settlements. It's like the human characters don't even know that their in a game, and that the absence of one character could be the downfall of our entire game._

_For awhile, Gold and I lived peacefully with the others, sneaking away to meet eachother every now and then. But then, we were caught. They discovered our human and feline forms are just two people, rather two cats and two humans. And they have hunted and hurt us ever since then._

_/_

__Sky Journals, __Entry 2, Sun__

_You know a little bit about us now. But do you really? You know what we look like, our powers, how we ended up where we are now. But you don't know the heartbreak, the pain, the lost hope that haunts my memory still. Like when we were first caught. They didn't realize that she was my sister. I was in my human form, but she was in her lioness one. They eventually found out, and they. . ._

_They whipped her. Right in front of me. They tied her to a tree, and used a whip that had metal bits on it. They struck her, 50 times. They ignored her, ignored me, ignored our cries, our explanations. They all rejected us. We're not really part of the game, we were background characters. And they're right. The game was going fine without us, but the characters welcomed us all the same._

_But when they learned our secret, they blamed Moon. They blamed her, and drove us apart, and the entire game barely tolerates to downright hating us ever since. We had found the plugin for our game system, but it was never plugged in when we went there. We know that we have to escape._

_Moon doesn't trust anyone but me now, and I can understand why. Having a whole game turn their backs on you? I completely understand her misgivings._

_But I also know that something might happen one day, something we'll need help with. And I'll probably be the one looking for that help. I'll always protect my sister._

_No matter what._

* * *

_A few months before. . ._

Crescent (POV)

I struggled against my bindings, trying to get free. I could see Gold in the crowd, and could only think that this wasn't supposed to happen. This was never supposed to happen! Only a few people knew about our meetings, but when the village leader found out? It was the worst thing to happen to us. My punishment was unknown.

Until now.

"My fellow citizens, hunters, and friends. We are here to punish this monstrosity, for stealing away one of the village children, and to remind it to obey it's higher-ups!" the leader shouted. The crowd shouted back. Turning to me with anger and remorselessness in his eyes, he picked something up out of a box. A whip. Six feet long, with three ends with metal bits on it.

I could see dried blood on it. "This will teach you, you monster!" he hissed at me. "You will never be accepted. _EVER_." he growled, fiercer than a grizzly bear. And so began the torture. I was in my human form, but that didn't matter. To them, I was nothing more than a witch. Witch's cause problems whether in or out of game-time.

The first few hits I held my tongue. But by the time we reached 10 I was sobbing. By twenty, screaming. Around thirty, I fell unconscious. They carted me out and dumped me in the forest. I treated my wounds to the best of my ability, before making my way to a tree. I changed to my lioness form and climbed high up into the branches, and beginning to wonder what in the world I could do.

I looked up into the darkening sky. The moon and stars appeared, and a falling star streaked across the sky from behind the moon.

"I wish that my brother and I will be able to escape this place within the next year." I whisper, watching the falling star fade away. A rustling sound, a tree over. Another rustle of leaves and branches, and a large feline appears in the branches. It's Mist, a mountain lioness witch-doctor. Which isn't as weird as it sounds.

"Are you okay, Moon? she whispers. I give her a look.

"What do you think?" I grind out between clenched teeth. "Whipped, rejected by my entire game, and separated from my little brother. How's that for okay." I hiss a little as I shift in my spot, that pain returning. She sighs and looks down, before letting out a small growl, then a hiss followed by a purr. A scrambling sound on the ground get's closer, until Sun is on a branch next to me, in tiger form, a pack on his back.

Holding the pack out for Mist to rummage through, he looks at me. "Moon, this is the last kindness we're probably going to receive from the outside. Mist told me how thier all putting bans on helping us. . .you." he hung his head, then looked up again. Mist began carefully cleaning my wounds, which hurt almost as much as receiving them.

"So why are you doing this, Mist?" I ask. She looks at me, pity, remorse, and anger clouding the normally clear blue depths of her eyes. Starting to apply some sort of medicine, she replies,

"The ban takes affect tommorow, which means I can help you tonight. If I could, I would just stay with you, but. . . " she trails off, rummaging around in the bag again.

"It would be against the programming, I know. But it's okay. You'll always be our friend, even if we ever leave." I reply, the herbs already numbing the pain. She gives me a pained look. Glancing around and scenting the air, she starts to apply some bandages, wrapping them around my torso.

"Bad things are happening with. . . ." she glances around, lowering voice to just above a whisper, "The code. I hear that some people blame your appearance in the game to the code beginning to unravel now. If that does happen, I'll go with you guys, but for now. . .it's mostly rumors. No one know's for sure what's gonna happen. . . . ." she trails off again, glancing around nervously.

"So, your saying that the our game might be thrown out?" confirms Sun. Mist nods. She glanced around again, before tying the bag to a branch.

"There's a little more medicine, some food and water. This is all I can give you now. I have to leave soon." explains Mist. Sun leans forward and rubs against her, purring sadly. Leaning forward, she taps noses with me, then Sun, for what could be the last time. After she left, Sun and I gazed up at the night sky.

"Before I have to leave, can we do our rhyme?" he asks. I nod, gathering my thoughts.

"~I care for you more than the Earth below and Sky above~," I start.

"~Like cookies and hot cocoa, sweet just because~," he returns.

"~I shall always be there for you~," I whisper.

"~Through thick or thin, it's easy to~, he whispers back.

"~See why I love you~." we whisper together. We tap noses, before he scrambles to the ground, and takes off into the night. Leaving me alone with my thoughts. I look up into the night sky again, focusing on the moon. It holds significance for me, just as the sun holds significance for brother. I settle myself on the branch, making sure that I won't easily fall.

I then allow myself to fall asleep. My dreams tonight are a great whirl of confusion.

I see Sun and I, casting the spell and getting sucked into the game again. Finding our way into the forest, discovering our new feline forms, being accepted into the communities best suited for us. Getting caught, the whipping all over again, what happened between Mist, Sun, and I. And then, something else. Seeing a way out, more injuries, more pain, blood, panic, and then. . .darkness.

Images of a place that seems made out of things like cakes, cookies, candy, and other 'junk' food. I look around. I was on some sort of bridge, that looked like a big rainbow. Down below, shouts and cheering were coming from what looked like a racing event. I wander down and slip between two of tall the seating spots. There were many racers, but surprisingly, they were all about Sun's size.

And then, I saw it. It was Sun. He was lined up with the other racers, but he wore a different outfit. He had a pale gold shirt and pants, and he wore a silver cape, that had a gold sun stylized on the back. I watched as they got in their cars. His looked like it was made from a cake, gold with silver highlights. A raven-haired girl walked up to him.

She had candy in her hair, a turquoise hoodie with matching pants, and a Reese's Cup wrapper for a skirt. I could just hear what she said.

"Good luck, Sun. Enjoy your first race."

"Thanks, Vanillope. I'll do my best." he returned warmly. She hopped into her own car, which seemed kinda random compared to the others in style. And they were off. I cheered with the crowd.

I blinked awake, confused for a moment why I was in a tree. As soon as I tried to move, pain rippled through my back, and I had to choke back a sob. I felt another pang of longing, wanting my friends and little brother back. I notice the bag Mist had left, and rummage through it, finding a cooked fish wrapped in leaves. As I began to eat, I thought over my dream.

Was it just that, a dream? Or was it something more? There wasn't any real way to tell for now, except to survive and keep looking for a way out.

Whether it's because we weren't part of the original game, or because we were originally human, we don't respawn like the others. Once I fell through a pit into a bunch of crocs, in an area that meant instant death. I respawned nearby, scaring the living daylights out of Sun. Hit with a knife? It scars over. I'd be sure to have many scars from the whipping, no doubt.

I sigh and gaze back at the moon, glancing at the rosy tone the sky is taking on the other side of the sky. The moon had nearly set, and the sun is about to rise.

Dawn. That magical time when the moon had just set but the sun had not yet risen. A silvery glow on one side, a golden one on the other, and stars scattered across the final remainder of dark blue sky.

"~Moonlight seeping away,

~Sunlight, not yet here.

~They are opposites, yet share the same sky,

~Ruling by,

~The different times of day or night.

~In front of blue both dark and light,

~With little stars and clouds they are quite the sight.

~No matter what,

~No matter where,

~I'll always find you, I'll always care.

~There is nothing you, can do.

~That will ever keep me,

~From, loving, you.~" I finish the sad, hopeful little melody, just as the sun rises. Beginning a new day. And a new, hard path for me to follow.

Alone.

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**Okay, chapter 1 is done. Okay, it's not in any of the games in Litwak's arcade yet, it's a DS game. Next chapter will be when all that happens. This is sortof like an intro.**

**Intro to the characters, their background, and what they've gone through together. Please review and leave suggestions, what you thought, whatever.**

**Keep calm and soar on. - Moon and Sun**


	2. Escaping from Heck

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Hello again! So no ones confused, Moon and Crescent are the same person, just like Gold and Sun. They call their human and feline forms by different names. Not obvious yet, but it will be.**

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**Chapter 2:** Escaping from Heck

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_Present day, month and a half after the events of Wreck-it Ralph . . ._

Sun (POV)

I look at the plugin, hoping against hope that we'll finally be free. There's nothing to climb onto, and I'm not sure how we'll get through. When Moon tells me to go into my tiger form, I comply, realizing her intentions. I do so a moment later, and and she picks me up by the scruff. She's getting ready to launch through, when there are shouts.

Moon turns, and I'm able to see the villagers. They're carrying all sorts of weapons, searching for us. Sis backs away slowly before running all-out for the plugin. The shouts rise in volume, and a spear flies towards us! Sis dodges hard left and kept going. Someone else runs at us, snapping a whip. Checking he pace, she leaps clear over him, the whip still snapping.

We're nearly there! I notice something glinting out of the corner of my eye, and Crescent's cry of pain is cut off in my fur. Something red drips drips down onto me, and I can see the red on her leg. Blood. The air becomes clouded with the scent of it. She dives in, spreading her wings and flying as quick as she can, turning around the next bend before they can strike again.

I scent the air, smelling electricity and blood. And as we go on, I start to catch the scent of people, and the slightest hint of food.

"I think we're nearly there! I can smell people, and. . . . . food like from back home!" I exclaim. Suddenly, a wall of electric cords looms in front of us! Wings straining, sis hovers in place. The space we are in is rather large, meaning we've made it to where we plugin to the station. I hope.

"Whaf doof weef doof nowf?" she asks around her mouthful of my fur. I scent the air, before looking down. Characters are walking down below us. The way out!

"We go down! That's how we get in the place!" I says, making my urgency clear in my voice. Slowly circling, Moon lines up to make sure we won't end up touching the sides, when something shifts. The walls are dimming, a hidden panel of what looks like electricity is growing, forming a wall! We dive down, managing to get past it in time. We bang against something hard, and then we're falling.

"Sis! Pull up, Pull up!?" I wail. Her grip on my scruff has disappeared. I twist around in time to see that she's unconscious in her human form. I scream silently as we fall, but when I hit the ground, the ground doesn't feel hard as I thought. I swap forms before I open one eye, then the other. I'm sprawled out over something large and red. And apparently alive. A head lifts itself into my line of sight, a large hand rubbing it.

"Okay, ow." he grumbles, before catching sight of me. He fixes me with a look. It isn't mad, or accusing, but rather it was curious and confused.

"Are you okay?" he asks. I nodded hesitantly and slide off carefully, getting a good look at him. He's very tall, towering over me, with huge hands and feet. A girl roughly my height appears out of no where next to him. She has a turquoise sweater and pants, black hair littered with little decorations, and seems to have a Reese's Cup wrapper for a skirt.

"Whoa! I never saw a plugin in the ceiling of this place! The guy you fell on is Ralph, and I'm Vanellope. What's your name?" she says in one long breath. I blink, barely registering the question. I hear a groan behind me, and turn to see Sis sprawled over a man in blue.

His eyes open slowly. "Jimmany . . jamminy. What hit me . . ? he groans.

"Felix!" exclaims the Ralph. He hurries over, and I scurry after.

"Oh, please don't hurt her! We didn't, I mean, we were-" I start panicking, before the girl-in-turquoise interjects.

"It's okay, Ralph isn't mad at you." interrupts Vanellope. As Ralph begins to roll Crescent off, he freezes with a gasp. Blood. Lots of blood. I gently pull sis off the best I can, trying not to jar the injuries further. Blood stains her clothes, the ground, and also Felix, apparently. The man sits up, rubbing his forehead. When he pulls his hand away, he sees the blood.

He jumps up with a yelp, and a strange _BOING_ing sound, quickly taking in the blood on his clothes, the ground, and sister. His hands fly to his mouth. Weak stomach, I guess.

"Oh my LAND, what happened?!" he exclaims, approaching sis quickly, pulling a golden hammer from his belt. I hover next to Moon as he gently taps at the wounds on her stomach. A quiet _DING_ sounds, and a faint gold glow washes over the wounds as they heal, leaving no scars and even fixing the fabric. Leaving me open mouthed and wide eyed.

Felix gives me an encouraging smile as he gently taps the rest of the wounds, healing each one. Soon, there's nothing left to really fix.

"Hey, goldie, I think you left your jaw on the floor." exclaims a voice loudly in my ear. I jump and spin around, staring at Vanillope, who's laughing behind. I glower at her.

"My name is not 'goldie', it's Sun. What about you, Nilly?" I tease. She freezes, turning to glare at me.

"Don't call me that." she says. I quirk an eyebrow at her.

"Don't call you what, _Nilly_?" she steps forward until we're nose to nose.

"Don't. Call. Me. Nilly! You little word-mons-tler!" she snips. I flinch back as if struck. Something hits me, a memory, and I can't back out of it.

_/_

_*Flashback*_

_"You little twerp! What have you done?" snarled the baker, brandishing his rolling pin menacingly. I looked at the small loaf of bread that lay half burnt on the hearth. I tremble as he approaches._

_"I-I'm s-s-sorry! I-I d-didn't m-mean it!" I stutter, crying out as he swings at me, me arm raised instinctively to block the blow. A large _CRACK_ echoes in the small room, before my scream fills it to the brim. I cradle my broken arm to my chest, searching for an escape from this cruel man._

_"Nothing but words! Words don't mean nothing, you little monster!" he screeches at me, swinging the rolling pin again. I dodge and lash out at his arm, my thumbnail digging in. He yelps at the pain before raising his weapon, and evil glint in his eyes._

_"You little monster! Your in for it n-" his eyes suddenly closed and he dropped like a bag of flour. Terrified, I fled. _

_'Monster, monster monster.' repeats itself in my head. 'I am _not_ a monster!'_

_*End Flashback*_

_/_

I feel tears fill my eyes, so I turn away quickly, rubbing my right arm, trying to erase the phantom feeling of pain. I try to quiet a sniffle, but it escapes me. A gentle hand on my shoulder pulls my attention to Vanillope. I pull away slightly.

"What?" I try to sound tough, but my voice shakes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really mean it." I huff and turn away.

"That's what they all say." I mutter under my breath. Another hand, turning me by the shoulders, turning me towards someone tall. Really tall, in metal armor from head to feet, taking off his helmet to reveal . . . a lady? She brandishes the helmet like a weapon, looking down at me, curiosity and wariness in her eyes, and something else.

"Listen up, half-pint. I realize that your game just got plugged in and you don't know the protocol yet, but you don't treat people who just helped you that way." her tone is firm and reprimanding, and her voice seems rough, as if she's seen many hard days. Like me. I shake my head slowly.

"Our game wasn't plugged in, it got unplugged. I think." horrified looks pass between all present. "What did I say?" I ask timidly.

"Well, you see," starts Felix, pausing for a moment before continuing. "In the arcade, getting your game unplugged means that it disappears. Everyone who once lived there becomes homeless, and anyone trapped inside. . . ." he trails off, uncertain. Realization comes to me, and I nod.

"They die. The game I lived in, was, well, mobile. It had a removable cord, so it could be plugged in when it needed more electricity. I guess it finished charging when we escaped, but at least we didn't get fried to a crisp from the electricity." the lady stiffens and glares down at me. I back up a pace just as she swings her helmet! I yelp and duck, before leaping back out of range.

"You went AWOL!?" she demands harshly. I dodge another swipe, trying to get away, before she grabs me by the front of my shirt. I struggle, letting out a low snarling sound. About 2 seconds later, three things happen at one.

1\. The lady swings her helmet at me,

2\. Moon is suddenly there getting me out of the ladies grasp,

3\. Moon punches at the ladies chest right as the helmet swings again.

Ending in an-even-more-injured Moon and a surprised, well, everyone else. Standing tall despite the pain, she wipes the blood from her lip and looks the lady right in the eye, despite the few feet less she has. Now that I think about it, I have a few inches on Vanillope, and sis has a foot on Felix. This armored lady and Ralph, though. . .tower over us.

"No one touches my brother." she growls. She starts to back away, but stumbles, hissing in pain. I immediately support her, looking at the others nervously. Moon eyes the armor with grudging admiration in her eyes. I quickly explain what happened since she got knocked out, and she takes it better than I thought.

"I was half awake during half of that, at least. As soon as it seemed like danger for my little bro, I took action. Thanks for patching me up." she says to Felix.

"My pleasure. That's what good guys do." he replies. I cock my head to the side.

"What do you mean, the good guy? Wait a minute. . ." I look at him, then Ralph, then back to him. Moon seems to be making a similar conclusion.

"Your Fix-it Felix! And Wreck-it Ralph? How did I not see this?!" I exclaim, before quieting my down. Moon looks between the two characters, nodding slightly.

"Is there a chance we could stay at your game, at least for the night? We could tell you our story." she eyes the armored lady with wariness and a hint of distrust before gently brushing me off. Through a small grimace as she steps forward, it melts into a smile as she extends her hand.

"The names Moon, at your service." the armored lady shakes her hand, replying,

"The names Sargent Tamora Calhoun. Nice to meet you." Moon takes a step back, grimacing again. When Vanillope materializes in front of her, she squeaked in surprise as she leaped back. Introductions went a little more smoothly after that, and we were off through the station. Their were a lot of characters, and the majority of them were huge compared to me.

I stuck near Moon, trying to dispel my unease. She's limping. It's slight, but I notice it. I can also see the bruise forming on the left side of her face, slowly turning purple-gray. She doesn't seem to notice, or simply ignores, Felix's attempts to catch her attention. It doesn't take very long to get there, but both me and sister pause at the entrance.

"How do you guys get through here all the time?" she asks, a note of fear in her voice.

"The Trolley cars, a-doy." answers Vanillope. I give her a look and she shrugs. As there's only three cars in total, and they're pretty small. I realize that we'll have to share seats, and even then it'll be a tight squeeze. Ralph climbs into the closest one, taking up the whole car. Calhoun and Felix climb into the farthest one, leaving the middle one for me, sis, and Vanillope.

Moon hesitates before climbing in, and Vanillope climbs in after. Although apprehensive, I climb into little trolley car. We soon arrive at the game, and see what Felix calls Niceland, a tall building that seems to house very short people called Nicelanders. I'm taller than them, but not by much. They don't seem mean, and if it came to a fight, they'd probably only beat us in numbers. One in particular seems very not happy to see us.

"Felix!? Are you okay?!" demands a man, rushing up to him. He eyes the blood stains on him, as do most of the little people. There's more bloodstains on sister, as the others quickly notice.

"Who are they?" he asks again, wariness and irritation clear on his features.

"Gene, I would like to introduce y'all to Moon and Sun. They're newcomers to the arcade and needed a hand." a 'Nicelander' women in purple walks up.

"I'm Mary, nice to meet you!" she says warmly, and I shake her hand. Gene huffs and finally shrugs. After a few more names and and introductions, we're ushered inside. We haven't been in a building anywhere close to being in the modern day since getting stuck in video game land. Moon keeps gazing around as if it's either the best thing ever; or a trap.

We're lead to the top of the building, and the space is pretty big. A dance floor, a bar, and other things suggest that this is a party room perhaps. There are a few things that seem more suited to Sarge and Ralph's height, spread here and there. We all take a seat, ending up in a circle.

"So, you know us? How?" asks Ralph. I look up at Moon, and nod to her. She can explain this one.

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**Please review!**


	3. Explanations, Nesquik, and Mystery Guy

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph.**

**He-he. I'm sorta hoping you're not aiming pitchforks or tomatoes at me. I mostly left it like that at the end because I wanted to tease my friend. **

**Remember when Calhoun smacked Moon across the face with her helmet? It's time to address the wounds that came from that, and one that Felix missed. Enjoy, and I promise to make sure that it doesn't end as abruptly as the last chapter. No promises, but still. :-)**

**And I don't know why I named the chapter this, so. . . yeah, please read on to find out, and review to tell me what you think.**

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**Chapter 3:** Explanations, Nesquik, and Mystery Guy

* * *

Moon (POV)

We're lead to the top of the building, and the space is pretty big. A dance floor, a bar, and other things suggest that this is a party room perhaps. There are a few things that seem more suited to Sarge and Ralph's height, spread here and there. We all take a seat, ending up in a circle.

"So, you know us? How?" asks Ralph. Sun looks up at me and nods. He wants me to take this one. I turn back to them.

"Well, like it was said before; it's a long story. You know the players? That play the games and whatnot?" everyone nods, but Calhoun arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so? Quit beating around the bush!" she replies.

"In short, we were once players ourselves, living out there-" I gesture in the general direction of the screen, but several voices of surprise and disbelief rise up.

"If you were players, then how are you in here now?" asks Ralph, eyeing us like some sort of dangerous creatures.

"Well, we were magic out there. We could cast spells, mix potions, all sorts of things. We were casting a spell on our DS game, but it backfired. It was supposed to send an object into the game, so the character could use it. Instead, we got stuck inside."

"Couldn't you just, well, cast the spell in reverse?" questioned Vanillope. I shake my head.

"We don't have our magic anymore, not really." Sun raised an eyebrow at me, giving a small nod of his head. I shrug, nudging him. He wanted me to tell them. But if I did, what would happen? I catch Calhoun eyeing us, as if we were about to run.

"When threatened, whether by the player or a bear, who seemed to love terrorizing us, we had a few tricks up our sleeves. Mostly climbing and bigger jumps for me, and some sort of pressure point thing Sun does that immobilizes them. We were mostly background characters, so we didn't really have to fight." I finish.

"Well, if that's the case, how did you get so, well, roughed up?" asked Felix.

"What do you mean?" asked Calhoun. Ralph went on to explain how we fell out of the sky and nearly flattened them, the injuries on me, which apparently were a deep gash on my arm, a bloody, cut eye, and long, jagged lines on my stomach. So that's what I had. I eyed the gold hammer again. Without that thing, I'd probably be blind in my left eye by now.

I shrug. "I'm not sur-" Sun bumped me, hard, and I turned my gaze on him. He glared and then waved his hand slightly, gesturing between us and back to the others, arching an eyebrow. The truth? The truth nearly killed last time. I glare back, but finally shrug.

"Well, in short, we were attacked. We were trying to go through when some of the NPC's attacked us. I managed to keep Sun from getting hurt, but they tore me up apparently before we could get to the plugin." Shocked looks all around.

"What?" asks Sun, gazing around before looking up at me. Did we do something wrong?

"You were attacked by your game-mates? Was it during game-play or. .?" began Ralph cautiously, as if afraid to break the silence. I shake my head.

"This was probably several minutes before we, er, dropped in." Sun snorts at my unintentional pun, but quiets. Tension seems to fill the air, uncomfortable looks passing between the others. Eve Calhoun, who had seemed to suppress it more.

"Why did they attack you then?" Calhoun finally asked, her voice sounding strained.

"When we were zapped into the game, they took us in and treated us like family or friends. Sun ended up in one of the village settlements, and I became an assistant to a wizard. There's a lot of different places the player can explore, and the others assumed we had come from one of the hidden ones." I took a deep breath. Time for the painful part.

"Sun and I couldn't be together as much anymore. The NPC villagers seemed to think it was real life. Monsters, like werewolves, vampires, witches, and the rest were considered their enemies. They hate magic related things. So when Sun and I met up to visit after awhile, and I showed him a potion the wizard gave me, we were seen that time.

"I was basically arrested, blamed of being a witch, and my ultimate punishment was being completely separated from Sun. We kept trying to meet up, but it was hard, and visits few between. The game was doing fine without us, so we decided to escape as soon as we could. And we did." Silence. They all glance at one another again, before Vanillope speaks up.

"I can understand how you feel. For years I was considered the outcast, and no one really liked me. Turned out some evil dude took over the game, but we destroyed him and everything became good again." I smiled at her, nodding slightly, before letting my smile fade. I'd never thought what we would do when we would escape, just things leading up to it.

"True, same here, but we weren't beaten up. Maybe names, but nothing physical." Ralph added, looking at us with understanding.

"So, what do you plan on doing now?" asks Felix. I avoid their eyes, looking at the ground. I shrug, not really sure how to answer.

"What happens the characters who's game get's unplugged?" pipes up Sun, eyes retaining a bit of hope. They all tried talking at once, before Felix explained, or tried to. He didn't seem to have the heart to do it. Calhoun finally interrupted.

"If your inside the game when it's unplugged, it's game over for good. If your outside the game, your basically homeless unless you can find another game to join." Not a very nice system, but there are chances, at least.

"So, I guess we should see what other games their are?" Sun looked up at me for confirmation. I nod, but Ralph speaks up again.

"So I'm guessing you came here when you were still players? Is that how you know us?" I nod.

"Yeah. Fix-it Felix Jr. was always one of our favorites, even though we had ideas that could make it even better."

"Yeah, like a version where you can control Ralph or something, to make it multi-player!" added Sun, something edging his voice. Candle flame curiosity. When was the last time he came up with his flickering-flamed ideas, other than to form an escape? When did we last have fun?

"That does sound pretty neat. Might not happen, but still." Ralph smiled, and it's. . . genuine? Yes, it is. They don't want to hurt us, they want to help. You don't need Sun to ask for it. Ralph's statement seemed to break the tension, making it a little easier to talk, it seemed. We went over our skills, which worked and didn't work here, and then on to some of the games in the arcade.

There were quite a few that might work, like one of the racing games. Sun seemed enthusiastic, and even though I might not be able to fit into a cart, I could try a different game. That's when Vanillope brought up her game. Sugar Rush. Sun seemed to pounce on the idea. I hadn't played it much, a few times with Sun when he didn't want to play solo, but I'd never seen Vanillope there.

"Are you sure? From what Sonic was saying on those announcer things, we'd just die, instead of respawning, if we're outside our game. Wouldn't we?" his perplexed expression looked around the room, but Felix seemed to have an idea.

"So, your saying that Donnie from the Ninja Turtles game has invented things that allow you to not die outside your game? Like, respawn and all that?" Sun asks slowly. A nod, and then a grin on his part.

"I would like to at least see this place before we go. And if possible, just stay there while we recharge from our, uh, ordeals." more nods and smiles, and we're off again. We're introduced to more of the Nicelanders. Norwood stood out in particular for me. He was a vet, and had a lot of cats. Gave me a few ideas. I tried my best not to limp, the pain in my leg increasing.

I climbed hesitantly into a trolley car, Sun and Vanillope climbing in next to me. I tensed up as we went inside the cord, listening to the crackling electricity, feeling it's potency in the air. I looked back in time to see the entrance to Fix-it Felix Jr. vanish, and caught Calhoun watching me. I looked ahead again, but could feel her eyes on me.

After what felt like forever, we finally made it back to Game Central Station. There were still characters milling around, going form one plugin to the next, or meeting up with someone, but it seemed quieter than before, not as many characters as when we first went through. The plugin for Sugar Rush was at the other end of the station.

Which meant more walking, yippee. I tried to hide my pain, but it got harder the farther we went. My head ached, and my leg burned, sharp pains shooting up every time it took weight. I managed to hide it the first time around, but it was getting harder the farther we went. Felix seemed to be trying to catch my attention, or more like, attention to a golden hammer he had on his belt.

I ignored it, not really seeing why he was doing that, but caught glances every now and then from everyone in the group. When we finally made it to the plugin, I thought I would drop.

_'If I could only become a lioness again, this would all be so much easier.'_ I toss the thought aside the moment I get it, knowing it was pointless to wish right now. We climbed into the train, which looked vaguely like a bunch of floating boats made of assorted candies. At least these were bigger. We could all have our own seats. And Calhoun decided to sit next to me.

"Is your," she glanced vaguely at me, "face okay? I swung harder than usual." I shrug, glancing at the entrance to Game Central before it vanished, electricity crackling around us. I shuddered slightly and pull my legs up to my chest, then shifted my left, injured leg back down. Calhoun crossed her arms.

"What?" I ask. She rolls her eyes.

"Are. You. Okay? I hit you pretty hard." I nod, looking back at where we were going. More electricity laden walls. Great. Another tense couple of minutes later on my part, the entrance revealed itself. We stepped off the train and went through the entrance, and I stopped dead. It was a wonderland made of candy and sweets. _Giant_ candy and sweets.

"Woah." I whispered it, but Sun jumped up and down, taking in everything he saw, eyes wide with excitement. We were on a giant rainbow-like bridge protruding from a mountain-looking thing, a race track below, winding away out of sight, and a tall, brown, natural looking thing in the distance, a forest of candy cane-looking trees to the right and beyond the racetracks beginning.

I could tell that there was more, but it felt like to much to take in all at once. We started our trek down, Vanillope pointing and saying the names of places as she did. There were candy people in grandstands that looked like boxes next to the track, I could see that as we got closer. It was loud, and the cars were fast. I didn't want to deal with this, it's just, to much to take in one day.

"Hey, Vanillope, how big is the forest?"

"Pretty big, why?" she asks, turning midstep. I half shrug, putting my weight fully on my right leg.

"I want to have some alone time, and if I get lost, I can climb a tree and see where to go." I reply. Sun comes back over towards me.

"Where should we meet up?" he asks, eyes showing worry and concern. I have to think more about that one.

"Why not here, at the track? We don't know where we're going to stay yet, so, yea-"

"Whaddya mean? You'll stay with me, of course!" Vanillope cut in. I nod to her.

"Okay. We can meet up here. I guess if I'm not here in a couple hours, it means I've taken a nap. Just go a ways into the forest and do your thing, buddy."

"Sounds good to me." grins Vanillope.

"Okay. Come back, okay?" he asks. I nod, pulling him in for a hug. A quick goodbye to the others and I'm off. I start running, and don't slow until I make it to the edge of the forest. The pain has, by then, increased in my leg, lessening only slightly after I stopped. Looking around to ensure I was alone, I pictured my Lioness form, Crescent.

Clothing seemed to cling and melt onto my skin, my hair clinging to my face and neck, becoming fur, my body changing into a feline shape, my cape separating and elongating, growing feathers, becoming wings. It was over in a few seconds, and I allowed myself to fall onto all fours. I stretched my wings out before settling them to my sides, then checked over my left hind leg.

It looked like it got nicked with a whip, reddish lines around the ankle that were crusted with dried blood, and seemed twisted a little funny. I held it off the ground and began my little adventure into the forest. After wandering around and sniffing about for nearly an hour, I stumbled across some pond-like things that seemed full of frosting. Upon trying some it, it didn't seem as likely. The texture, or consistency, was a little odd.

A few candy cane trees actually grew in the middle of some of these ponds, with gumdrops being the only way to reach them. After looking around for awhile, I found a variation of the candy cane tree. This kind was striped yellow and purple, and seemed more tree like, with marshmallows hanging off the branches. I discovered a cliff overlooking a good deal of the place.

Peering over the edge, I realized that the cliff looked like a cake. I carefully dug down a few inches before sticking my head in for a good sniff. Smelled like cake, so I reached a little farther and took a bite. It was chocolate cake, and really good. I took another big mouthful before turning towards the forest. Maybe a few marshmallows before exploring some more, perhaps.

I didn't want to try climbing just yet, and it looked like there were some lower trees and branches deeper inside. What I found, however, looked pretty cool, scary, and potentially dangerous. It was a long, deep cut in the ground, with some sort of brown stuff on the bottom, that looked a little bit like pudding. There was a narrow tree spanning the distance from my side to the other, where branches would be in my reach.

I climbed on carefully, holding out my tail to help keep my balance. The trunk was thin, and only got thinner the further I got. I was halfway across when I noticed it. The stripe pattern was a little different. Instead of 'yellow-purple-yellow', there was a thin yellow stripe in each purple band.

"Two stripes, huh." I mutter, right when it blinks twice with light, down the entire length. I tense, trying to figure out what's happening, right before it disappeared! I yell as I fall towards the stuff, landing in and sinking to about shoulder height, which is really high on all fours. A sign nearby proclaimed the stuff to be 'Nesquik-sand'.

I couldn't move without sinking more, but I eventually find a way to inch forward without sinking to much. It takes me probably a good hour or two to wiggle and squirm my way to the sign, the nearest solid object. I grab at it, pulling myself up so that I'm closer to waist deep. I don't know what to do, besides call for help. Which I eventually do. For nearly half an hour.

I eventually stop, my throat hoarse. My leg aches, and I have to keep pushing down on the sign to keep from sliding all the way into the quicksand stuff. As time wore on, I began to feel like I would never get out.

"Life is so artistic." I mutter. "Rather than death by beatings, or knives, or blood-loss, it's death by a chocolate milk mix thingy. Oh, the irony!" I deadpan out loud, trying to find comfort in my voice. If only the light changed, then maybe I'd actually know what time it is!

* * *

Unknown person (POV)

I blinked my eyes open slowly. I seemed to be in some sort of cavern, with a huge pool of some sort of bubbly stuff nearby, and huge white stalactites over it. I stood slowly, making sure I could actually hold my own wait. I looked at the pool and shuddered. 'Diet Cola Hot Springs' and 'Watch out for Falling Mentos' read two signs proudly near the pool. Why did it have to all end with being burned up by the stuff?

I gaze around, trying to figure out where the exit is, if there is one. I shudder again. It would be the worst if I had to stay trapped here, the place where my death occurred, for the rest of my life. Oh, he was going to pay for this! It's his fault that this happened!

"Well, at least I respawned. Now all I have to do is find Vanillope, and finally finish what I started." I mutter, glaring at the pool.

* * *

**Oh my, who is that?! Contest time! Anyone who can guess who that is in the last part up there /^\ get's to pick what happens next! Good luck, please review, and all that.**

**~Keep calm and Soar on. - Moon and Sun~**


	4. Racers, Snow, and the Sky Journal

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Oh, no one seemed able to guess right in my little contest. That's okay, I made it tough on purpose. I'd be worried, in fact, if someone guessed right off the bat! It would mean they were mindreaders. . . .onward! Let's see how Moon is doing, and what Sun did when they parted.**

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Racers, Snow, and the Sky Journal

* * *

Sun (POV)

I watched with more than a little concern as Moon left. Her leg was injured; that much I could tell. I also knew how stubborn she was about showing injuries to anyone, for she saw it as showing weakness to a potential threat. I shook my head. We may have gotten away, but old habits sure are hard to break. Vanillope, Ralph, Felix, and Tamora started showing me around.

One thing I learned, which I rather like, is that everything is edible. Even the citizens, technically, but we obviously can't eat them. The Random Roster Race was explained, but seeing as it's Saturday night, they aren't holding it. Apparently, the arcade is closed Sunday. The racers were doing laps, either having a mini race or just having fun.

A few of the racers were just watching, so Vanillope introduced them to me. Gloyd Orangeboar, Creumbelina Di Carmello, Minty Zaki, and Swizzle 'The Swizz' Malarkey were four racers that weren't on the track today. I really was roughly the same height as the racers. If we did make this our home, I would fit right in. They're names were based on candy or food, and their clothing and such fit right into that, as well as their cars.

Apparently, even though the Random Roster Race didn't take place Saturday, they still held a big race among all the racers. The stands were like giant boxes holding candies, each candy or sweet seemed based or dedicated to or for each racer. There was even and 'Assorted Fans' and 'With Nuts' sections. I had only fleeting glimpses of this world before, but this was the real deal.

Gloyd, Creumbelina, Minty, and Swizzle wanted to hold a mini race, but couldn't find a fifth person to race with. Vanillope immediately volunteered, but I didn't want to be left out. Gloyd seemed to understand, and offered to let me ride with him. There was just enough room to do so, but it was a bit of a squeeze. After getting into place, Ralph did the start thing, and we were off.

"THIS IS SO COOL!?" I shout, earning laughs, shouts of agreement, and loud engine revving.

"HOW DOES THE STICK SHIFT WORK?" I shout over the engine noise.

"IT"S PRETTY SIMPLE." he shouts back. Which soon lead to him shouting instructions about how the kart worked in general, and me fiddling with the stick partway through the race. We were approaching first place, right behind Minty, with Vanillope, Creumbelina, and Swizzle behind us, in that order. We were in the ice cream mountains when I gave an experimental turn with the stick, right before Gloyd shouted,

"NOT THAT WAY!" we slowed quickly, the racers behind swerving to get out of the way. Gloyd and I were fighting some for control of the stick, before we swerved onto ice, sending us skidding straight into a huge snowdrift. There was fine, snow-like ice cream on us and the cart. I tossed a bit of snow into the cold air, laughing.

"How can you be so happy? We were _this close_ to getting first!" sulked Gloyd, testing the gas pedal. I give him a look, forming a snow, er, ice cream-ball in my hand.

"Ah, come on! It's not all about winning. The real winner is not the one with the gold medal, it's the one who's had the most fun!" I pack another snowball in my hand, while Gloyd just gives me a look.

"How is this fun?" he asks rhetorically, and I smirk.

"Like this." I say simply, right as I throw first one, then the other of my snowballs at him! He cries out and starts dancing around, screaming out,

"AAAHH!? Cold, cold, cold, COLD!?" he finally got it out, then scowls at me while I tried to cover up my giggles. He crossed his arms and turned his back on me with a huff.

"Ah, come on! Are you telling me that you've never ma-GAUGH!" I spat out a little of . . . of whatever hit me, wiping it from my eyes. I looked up to see him tossing a snowball from one hand to the other, smirking.

"Oh, it is _so _ **ON** now!" I shout, diving to one side of his cart, gathering armfuls of snow, making snowballs and hurling them at him, while he did the same. We must have been at it for an hour before we finally stopped, panting and hot despite the cold air. We relaxed, him in the cart, and me sitting cross-legged on the hood.

"Well, can't say I ever did that before. Did you just make that up, or. . ?" Gloyd questions. I shake my head.

"Nah, that was something we did a lot at my home. We would make snow forts, then a huge arsenal of snowballs." I pause, beginning to count off from my fingers. "But then there was picking teams, break-time arguments, how we would rotate team members. . ." I trail off, thinking over how we did things before we went to the video-game world.

"That's. . .a lot to remember." he finally replies. I shrug.

"Well, that's how we learned to do it. You can make all kinds of thing with snow, though."

"What is 'snow'? This is ice cream."

"Well, snow is . . . I don't really know how to explain. Moon does, so we can ask her later."

"Who's Moon?"

"That's my older sister. She was having trouble dealing with all that had happened, so she went for a walk. We're meeting at the racetrack's start-finish line later." Gloyd nods, staring off into space. After a little while longer, we jumped down to our proclaimed spots on either side of the cart, and made some more snowballs, when something above us seemed to shift.

We looked up, and we heard something, before small chunks of ice cream began to fall overhead. I looked towards the exit. . . but there wasn't one.

"What was that?" Gloyd asks fearfully.

"I don't know, but our way out is gone." I reply. He gives me a panicked look before looking to the the blocked 'exit'. He starts breathing real heavy and fast, I think it's called hyperventitating. I scramble over the pumpkin-themed kart, right as he starts digging at the walls! I stop him and pull him away.

"CALM DOWN! Digging at the walls could make this place collapse on us!" he lunges into his kart, hugging his knees to his chest with his arms, staring around fearfully, still hypervantitating. He seemed to be saying something, but it was too low.

"Are you okay?" I ask, gently tapping his arm. He grabed me by the collar, his fists digging into my neck as he stood quickly.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE IN HERE! THEY'LL NEVER FIND US!? THE CEILING'S GOING TO CAVE IN!? HHHEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPP!?" he screams, the sound echoing and re-echoing, just like a cave. He slumped back down, covering his face with his hands, stifling a scared sob. I rubbed at my neck, before climbing into the seat next to him. I draped my cloak over us, so that we were a little warmer than the cold air around us.

"It'll be okay. We were having fun a few minutes ago! I'm sure they'll find us soon." I comfort. He peeked up at me, tears in his eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" he half whimpers, half sobs.

"I've been in a cave-in with rocks and hard objects. Ice cream, well, we can dig or eat our way out if we have to. We'll be fine." Gloyd half nods, straightening a little.

"I've been in plenty of tough situations with my sister. We have quite a few stories, too." I close my eyes, concentrating. I reach underneath my cloak, picturing it. I reach a little further and feel it. I grip it tight and pull it out. I open my eyes.

The Sky Journal.

Dark blue on top, fading into a sky blue, stars on the former and fluffy white clouds on the latter. A stylized sun and moon in the light and dark blue parts respectively. Gloyd stares at me as if I've grown a second head.

"How did you do that?" he asks, awe clear in his voice.

"I dunno, magic? This is where sister and I keep records of our adventures, as well as made up stories." I cringe inwardly. I don't want to lie, but Moon made me promise not to tell anyone about the Sky Journals. Oops.

"What sort of adventures?" I shrug.

"It's where we record our thoughts and feelings, stuff we don't want to share and stories we don't want to forget." Gloyd nods, seeming to think. He glances at the blocked exit.

"How did you escape the caves?" he asks.

"Well, it might be in my, uh, code, but I've always sort-of liked caves. They feel, well, cozy, and safe, and since I can see in the dark better than others, I could go into places others couldn't. If there was a cave-in, I would search for another way out, or dig through the cave-in if it was a dead end." I explain. True enough. In my Were-cat form, I can do many things.

"Well, maybe you can-"

"Quiet!"

"But I-"

"_Shush!_"

A loud crash sounds somewhere outside, and ice cream falls in little clumps all along the tunnel. Gloyd yelps in fear and grabs me tight around the stomach. I try to get him off, but his grip was like iron.

"Gloyd, let go! If something comes crashing through here, we need to be ready to act!" I exclaim, harsher than I meant to. Gloyd sobs and curls into a ball, pulling his candy-pumpkin hat down so it covered his eyes. At the far end of the tunnel, I could hear faint shouts, and a small hole was made at the top of the 'cave-in'. In peeked Creumbelina! She squeezed through and raced over to us.

"Oh my Programmers! Are you guys okay?" she demands, looking behind me. "Where's Gloyd?" she asks.

"I think he's afraid of trapped spaces." I reply, pointing to the kart. She nods, leaning over the side of it. Gloyd is still in a ball, and pulls away from Creumbelina's touch. She shakes her head sympathetically. She runs back to the hole, pokes her head through and shouts something. Someone shouts back, and she runs back over.

"We've been looking for you guys. When you didn't show up at the finish line, well I . . we, were worried." she looks at me almost shyly, before clearing her throat.

"Well, you found us. But how are we going to get Gloyd's kart out? I doubt that he'll want to leave without it." I reply, gazing back at the crying racer. Creumbelina snaps her fingers. I turn in time to see her scrambling through the hole, shouting. I sigh and plunk down in the snow. Well, ice cream. A few minutes later, Vanillope suddenly appears in front of me!

"What the _claw?!_" I shout, lurching to my feet and stumbling back towards the kart. She laughs, before getting somewhat serious.

"Get in the kart and drive it towards the wall."

"What? But won't we-"

"Nope! Zip it and do it!" she snips. I huff but go to the kart. After a little bit of talking, Gloyd sits up and scoots over so I can climb in. Vanillope perches on the hood, and gives the signal. Gloyd revs the engine before shooting forward. I brace myself for impact, when suddenly, Gloyd, Vanillope, and the kart change to blue silhouettes made of small ones and zeros, leaving me to hit the ground!

I stare after them, just as they disappear. I stand shakily and walk towards the hole. On the other side, it's like a shallow cave, and Gloyd's kart, Gloyd, and Vanillope are a couple yards away, with Ralph, Felix, Tamora, Creumbelina, Swizzle, and Minty. They're all shouting about something or other when I squeeze through. They all turn, and run at me.

I tense, backing up a pace before they surround me, yelling questions over one another. I can't get away, or move, or anything! I attempt to back up as I raise my fists, when I'm suddenly lifted by the scruff above the racers. I end up on eye level with Ralph. Although relieved, he seems rather troubled.

"Put me down, please." the shouting had subsided, for now, and everyone was staring at me. It was unnerving. I finally spoke up.

"Quit staring at me like vulture over a three-legged rabbit. What's the issue?" I snap. Everyone give me weird looks. Vanillope steps forward, looking perplexed.

"When I glitched through the wall, you didn't end up with the kart and me and Gloyd. That's never really happened before." I feel perplexed now.

"'Glitched'? Is that like a power or . ?" Vanillope nods.

"I'm the only one who has it. I can go from one spot to another nearby, glitch the kart's with me, and people. . ." I shrug.

"Maybe it only works on stuff in your game." Ralph shakes his head.

"She glitched me and a kart before. It works on stuff outside her game." he replied. My eyebrows furrow. Maybe because I was a player before, and that's why it doesn't work. I don't have a code like they do.

"What happened back there, anyway? We waited quite awhile back at the finish line, but you guys didn't show up." asks Swizzle. Gloyd has calmed down enough by now, so I let him explain. How I shifted the thing wrong, and how we messed around a little in the tunnel to try and keep him from freaking out so much. The others nod, and I realize something.

"How long were we gone?" I ask.

"At least two hours, quarter-pint. Why?" answer Tamora. I cross my arms.

"I'm not _that_ small. And I ask because Moon isn't here. I thought she would be back by now." No one has seen her. We're gonna have to plan a search.

* * *

**Well, that's that, I guess. We'll be seeing Moon real soon. Probably. **

**~Keep Calm and Soar On.-Moon and Sun~**


	5. Moon's Escape, Sun's Discovery

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck it Ralph, only my oc's**

**Hm, last chapter was fun. Little heads up, the (POV)'s are changing a little quicker this chapter. Just letting you know. I would also like to thank '**Dixie Darling**' for letting me know of my spelling error with Vanellope's name. I've decided to have Sun pronounce it the way I used to spell it, however, 'cause I think it's cute.**

**Let's see how Moon is doing now!**

* * *

**Chapter 5:** Moon's Escape, Sun's Discovery

* * *

Moon (POV)

I hang off the sign, trying to think of what to do. I've been stuck in this 'Nesquik-sand' for who knows how long. And I officially hate chocolate milk now. I flared my wings out, trying for the umpteenth time to get the sticky, gritty tasting stuff off, but no luck. I scrabble at the sign for a better hold before slipping down again. With a sigh, I look up and scent the air.

Cake, marshmallows, the Nesquik, sugar filled item, sugar filled item, sugar filled item. I lower my head with a huff of defeat. I'd draped my arms over the sign, and I'm in my Lioness form. With messed up wings, no less.

If the majority of the feathers on my wings are not aligned properly, and especially if they are covered in mud-or a chocolate milk mix-I can't lift off or fly or anything. Plus, with my injured leg, I wouldn't be able to push off anyway. I decide to give it a shot once, anyways. Hauling myself into a haphazard potion on the sign, I manage to flap hard enough to get nearly half of the stuff off.

Checking my balance, I slowly licked my feathers back into position, as well as removing more of the gritty stuff. When they were mostly good, I balanced and brought my legs close beneath me. I flared out my wings and looked where I wanted to go. I pushed off and flapped as hard as I could. I managed to get to the cliff, and get a good grip, but it ended there. I tried to climb up, but at halfway, the stuff crumbled beneath me and I fell back into the pit.

Flapping my wings hard, I righted myself, actually managing to glide a short ways before hitting the stuff again. I was a few feet from the sign, so I wiggled my way over, snarling under my breath, then perked my ears. Sounds, like . . . people!

"Hey! Is anyone there? I'm stuck!" I shout.

"Yeah! I'm coming, hold tight!" he shouts back. Soon, someone is peeking over the edge of the pit! He has blue shirt and pants and dark green hair covered by a green and blue striped hat. I flutter my wings some until he sees me.

"Don't worry! I'm gonna go get some help!" he dashes back away. I relax some, then think. I'm covered in gritty cocoa mix, and I'm a Lioness. I don't want anyone to know that. I picture my human form.

Dark brown silver streaked hair, buckskin clothes, silver cloak, moose moccasins. The silvery glow surrounds me, then was gone as my human form came. I opened my eyes and scrabbled at the sign. I had dug my claws into the wood, but now I was sinking a little deeper, a little faster. My leg burned, the sharp pains constant now.

A few minutes later, the guy reappeared with three others. A girl with light green hair, clothes, and a large bow, another boy with a large pumpkin on his head and brown and orange clothes, as well as Felix! They seem to be discussing how to get me out. And I would really like that to happen soon. Finally, they all seem to get into action; away from the pit.

I use my arms and good leg to pull and push on the sign until I've got myself a little higher, wincing at the sharp pains shooting up and down my leg. Before slipping down some moments later. I snarl slightly, wanting nothing more than to destroy this stuff, or, or. . ._SOMETHING_! I glance up when Felix starts shouting instructions.

"We're gonna throw down a rope. Just grab on and hold tight!"

"Got it!" I scrabble a little against the sign to keep from slipping completely. "Hurry!" They throw out the rope, and I grab at it with one hand. I sniff at it, realizing that it's licorice. I grab on with both hands, and they start pulling me out. After pulling and pulling, I was finally free of the stuff. I dug in my right foot on the side of the pit, pushing up as they pulled.

They finally pulled me over the side. They pull me to my feet to bring me away from it, and I can't keep down a sharp cry of pain. Worried looks all around.

"I'm fine." I grunt. Felix shakes his head.

"Nah ah, miss. Your clearly hurt, and I'm not going to stand aside and let you be in pain." he crossed his arms and tried to look stern. I had to hold back my laughter. He made me think of a puppy. I roll my eyes and sit carefully, but far from the pit before pulling up my left pants leg. The others take in sharp breaths. My leg is bending a slightly different direction the wrong direction, and my ankle seems to be slightly swollen, red lines oozing blood winding around it.

Felix carefully taps first my leg, then my ankle with his golden hammer. The wounds reversed, so to speak, and the pain disappeared. I sigh in relief and stand. I was still covered head to to in the gritty cocoa mix, but I wasn't stuck, at least. I'm introduced to the racers.

Minty Zaki, Gloyd Orangeboar, and Swizzle Malarkey. As we walk back towards the track, Felix explains how they organized a few search parties about half an hour ago. Sun and a racer named Creumbelina were searching second area, while Ralph, Sarge and Vanellope were searching a third. We would have to wait until they returned for them to learn the good news.

Felix and Ralph stuck around the track to tell the search parties and Sun what happened and where we went. I stared open-mouthed when I saw the castle.

"You live here?" I ask.

"Uh, yeah, uh'doy. Nothing less for the president." Which lead to the explanation of how the physcopath had messed with the code, how she had been the princess before, but changed it to president afterwards. When we get to the castle, she introduces Sour Bill, a sour little hard candy who seemed to be in a sour mood. All the time. Ironic, isn't it?. Vanellope lent me some clothes after I got cleaned up, even though they were too small.

"Man, are there any _normal_ sized people around here?" I ask, scrubbing my cape. It was the last thing that needed cleaning, but it was the hardest because of the fur. She shakes her head, then looks at my arm.

"Why do you have a scars?" I glance at her, startled. I look where she's looking, and see two pale lines on my arm, running from the shoulder to the elbow. Sun had slashed me once by mistake, when I was teaching him how to fight as a tiger. I shrug.

"I was teaching Sun how to fight with knives. We had just upgraded to actual knives when he accidentally hit me." she stared at me for a moment.

"Why are their two lines, then?"

"Because he had two knives."

"Why are they so close together?"

"It was part of the technique."

"But why were you teaching him to fight with knives?"

"Because he needed to know how to defend himself if I was gone."

"But what would attack you?"

"Wild animals."

"What kind?" I glare at her.

"Why are you asking so many questions?" I demand. She shrugs, looking at me mischievously. I roll my eyes and pull my cloak out of the water. A rinse and some wick shaking later, it was finally clean. I step into a bedroom and changed back into my clothes. Vanellope started showing me around the castle, and the room I'd be having.

"Can me and Sun share a room? I don't want us to be separated." she eyes me, but shrugs. The room is next to Vanellope's, and is quite nice. Everything looks edible, but it's probably best to _not_ tell Sun that. Otherwise we wouldn't have a room anymore.

* * *

Mystery Guy (POV)

I've had no luck finding the exit, but I have found a unfinished track, as well as a fully made one lower down, carved right into the mountain's rock. I can only guess why it's there. A small lean-to made of giant, half-broken candy bits is not far from it.

"Of course she would opt for somewhere extremely dangerous to hide. Should have known." I mutter. The only question is, how did she get in here? She had to be able to leave for food, and have a way to bring all this stuff in! I grumble under my breath, and, after grabbing a rock, I hurl it out over the pool. It flies higher and higher, until it hits the tip of one of the stalactites!

A single Mentos falls, hitting the cola with a splash. Scrambling back, I watch as a spray of the stuff shoots into the air, before dying down. I breath heavily, trying to get rid of the sight of it. I walk over to the lean-to and flop down on the bed I've found there. At least right here, I can forget the pool. Almost. But I can't forget Vanellope.

"Oh, Vanellope. I can't wait to finally see you again." I grimace slightly, thinking of what happened over the last 15 years. Good, bad, and everything between.

"And if that no good, life-wrecking fool gets in my way, I'll beat him to a pulp! Despite how much taller he is than me! If my name isn't-" my next few words were garbled beyond any sort recognition as I glitch. I sit up quickly, placing my hands to my head as the pain from the glitching increased.

"No-AHt aga-EEEN, oh plEa-SE not AGHHEEEE-AIN." I whimper, the pain becoming unbearable. I thought I could here footsteps, and peered through the blueish haze, seeing a vague silhouette of. . .someone about a racers size. I finally collapsed as darkness overtook me.

* * *

Sun (POV)

Creumbelina and I had split up. Or, she had gone back to the race tracks early, and I was staying out for a half hour more. I'd made my way to Diet Cola Mountain, a pretty big place. I recall Vanillope telling me that there is a secret entrance inside, and I decided to look for it. Something about lollipops. They were probably big, so after searching around for 15 minutes, I finally find what I'm looking for.

Pressing my hand gently onto the wall, it passes through, a light blue-green grid thing showing as I step through. I look on in amazement as I see it. The Diet Cola Hot Springs, with it's Mentos stalactites. As I get closer, something falls into the springs. A huge spout of the stuff shoots up high before dying down. I hear someone and hide.

I watch as someone flops down under a crude lean-to made of candy stuff, onto a bed thing.

"Oh, Vanellope. I can't wait to finally see you again." he seems to grimace. "And if that no good, life-wrecking fool gets in my way, I'll beat him to a pulp! Despite how much taller he is than me! If my name isn't-" his next words are gibberish mixed with a slight grating sound, as he lights up into blue ones and zeros, like Vanillope, but a darker shade.

He sits up immediately, placing his hands on his head.

"No-AHt aga-EEEN, oh plEa-SE not AGHHEEEE-AIN." he whimpers, obviously in pain. I walk towards him, and am finally able to get a good look at him. he looks like some sort of racer, but not one I'd ever seen before. He seems to look at me before collapsing, falling off the bed. I approach carefully, nudging him with my foot. He groans slightly, but doesn't wake up. He's about my size, but even then it's hard to drag him onto the bed.

I wonder who he is, and what he's doing here, or how he even found the entrance in here. According to Vanillope, only she and Ralph knows where the entrance is. I haven't seen him before, or heard of him. Is he like Vanillope, someone who had to be on the run? Or was he merely trying to take a break from stuff? And why was he glitching?

None of my questions would be answered until he woke up. Whenever that was.

* * *

**Well, this chapter is shorter than I wanted. You'll see who this new racer is next chapter.**


	6. Nightmares and Racer Revealed

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, here we are again. I believe we're gonna finally learn who this racer is. I'm also beginning to realize that I need to warn people when there's going to be bloody parts, so I'm going to start including warnings and such.**

* * *

**Chapter 6:** Nightmares and Racer Revealed

* * *

Warning, moderate to extreme gore

* * *

Sun (POV)

After waiting for who knows how long, the guy finally stirs. He sits up with a groan, rubbing at his head. I walk back over towards him. I had changed to my tiger form, 'Gold', and had been practicing claw swipes and dew-claw swipes. I sat next to the bed, looking up at him.

"Well, that hurt." he grumbles, before he snaps his head in my direction. His eyes narrow, and he rubs at them before looking at me again. He sighs and runs a hand through his messy black hair.

"Well, I haven't seen you before. Are you a secret animal of the game?" he asks. I shake my head.

"No, I'm from of a different game. I can't go back, but I'm hoping to live here." he raises an eyebrow at me.

"You want to live in a volcano?" he asks sarcastically. I shrug.

"I dunno, it's pretty big in here, and you just have to avoid the stuff over there." I gesture towards the Diet Cola Hot Springs. He follows my motions before turning away with a shudder. I tilt my head.

"Are you afraid of that stuff?" he nods slowly, looking back down at me.

"It's a long story."

"I have time." he sighs and runs a hand through his hair again. He looks down at his clothes for a moment before looking back at me. He's wearing a dark blue hoodie and pants, black shoes, and scruffy black hair hanging half-way over his chocolate brown eyes. It had small, random bits of candy in it, and overall, he seemed familiar.

"Well, I guess names can start first. My name Cola."

"And my name is Gold. Nice to meet you. When you tell the story, are you gonna tell all of it? And not leave a single thing out?" he sighs and rubs at his face.

"Even dark-ish parts?" I cock my head, then nod.

"Very well. When the game was first plugged in, it was me and my sister ruling the candy citizens. We had our royal clothing, of course, as well as our regular racing suits for during the Random Roster Race and such. I was, technically, older than her, despite being twins. Therefore, I was the game leader, and knew about the code and how to get into the Code Room-"

"Whats the Code Room?" I interrupt. He glares at me, and I flatten my ears. "If I don't know what something is, I ask, otherwise I'm confused." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, mumbling something under his breath.

"Every game has a Code Room. It's where all the codes for the people and the landscape and rules and such are kept safe. The code is the lifeblood of the game; it can be messed with, whether to eliminate a virus, fix something, or. . ."

"Or break something, right?" he nods, drifting away into thought, before snapping back to the present.

"Well, I know how to 'mess' with the code. I know how to program things, fix code-related things, stuff like that. After about a month of being plugged in, Turbo showed up. Gray skin, yellow eyes, yellow teeth, white suit with red stripes, white helmet with a red 'T'. He snuck into the Code Room, and I followed him, trying to stop him from. . .from deleting me and Vanellope's avatar forms."

I open, then shut my mouth. Better to ask questions later.

"He and I fought, but in the end, he knocked me out. He merged our codes, then fiddled with it more, I guess, resulting in 'King Candy'. He made Vanellope a glitch, locked up everyone's memories, and I was trapped in his, my, _our_ body to watch as he did all sorts of awful things in my home and to my family." he took a shaky breath, then let it out slowly.

"When Vanellope and Turbo were fighting, and her glitch crossed over into his code, I regained a small amount of control. Not enough to take over, but enough to make a difference later on. There were these crazy, giant robotic bugs all over the place near the end of that race; I don't know where they came from, but one of them ate us and the kart, resulting in four codes to be merged.

"The karts, Turbo, me, and the bugs. It was. . . .well, monstrous would be an understatement. He tried to stop Wreck-it Ralph from-hang on, do you know him?" I nod.

"We were on top of Diet Cola Mountain," he swung his arm to indicate the space around us, "Ralph was trying to send the stalactites down, to stop the rest of the robo-bugs, I believe. Well, anyway, Turbo was set on killing him. In the end, he grabbed him up and flew us high above the mountain, and would have forced us to watch Vanellope die.

"I, somehow, managed to loosen Turbos' grip on Ralph, and kept him from flying after and scooping him up again when he broke free. He was, needless to say, very confused about why he did those things, but was smart enough to not hover over the mountain when it erupted. When it did, however, the robo-bugs flew towards it, and so did we. I was urging Turbo towards it, besides the bug half, into the cola stream.

"I knew that I might not respawn, but didn't care at the time if it meant saving Vanellope and the rest of the game. The three codes; Turbo's, the karts, and the robo-bugs got destroyed, but since the game had to deal with destroying all these things _and_ resurrecting the rest of the games landscape, I respawned only a week ago, if not later. I can't tell time very well in here."

I twitch my whiskers, thinking. "What's you full name?" I ask.

"Prince Cola von Schweetz."

"So, your a game leader, no one remembers you-"

"What do you mean ne one remembers me?" he demands, eyes wide in disbelief. I shrug, not really sure how to explain this properly.

"Well, she never mentioned you, and no one else has. They don't seem upset or sad about anything. And, Vanillope said that she is a _president_, not a princess or anything." I explain. Cola seems to deflate, sinking into the yellow bed. He mutters under his breath, quietly sobbing, tears beginning to leak from his eyes.

"Isn't there something we could do to bring everyone's memories back?" I ask. He sits up again, nodding shakily.

"Yeah. I had fire-walled certain data with passcodes only I would know how to crack, but I didn't get to all of them, obviously. But I'd have to get into the Code Vault, and that's inside the Candy Castle, guarded by Oreo guards. How would we get in?" I flick my ears, sitting like a cat and scratching my right ear with a hind paw.

"Well, I could ask Vanillope, smuggle you in, or I can talk to my sister to see if she had any ideas." I list the things on my fingers, trying to think of all the possibilities.

"There's another problem. My glitch is still painful, and I won't be able to do much until it settles itself." he explains, getting over his sniffles. I prick my ears.

"It hurts?"

"Well, yeah. It takes awhile for your code to settle, 'cause it has to get used to having an imperfection in it. After a week or two, at most, it stops being painful, and you can, theoretically, teleport or have other powers like my sister." he explains, running a hand through his hair.

"You said that you halved her glitch. Does that mean you got a copy of her code? Your clothes and hair are like hers." he quirks an eyebrow, looking at me quizzically.

"Really? Huh, go figure." he looks over himself, feeling the clothes and the candy in his hair. He looks back at me, looking over my appearance.

"So, what game are you from?" I shrug.

"Well, I don't exactly have a game, but I'm staying here with my sister, for now, at least. We got here today, and crazy stuff has been happening, so. . ." I shrug again, flexing my claws out and back in, practicing my control. Cola stares at me, a fearful expression creeping onto his features. I sheath my claws, taking a pace back.

"I'm practicing. Control is important when your 'clawed paws' act as hands all the time. Can't have them coming out and shredding curtains by mistake. . ." I trail off, realizing something.

"It's okay, I should have guessed that you had claws." Cola replies.

"I have to go, I don't want my sister looking for me and finding you. I'll come back tomorrow though, okay?" he nods, giving me a small wave as I run out, going full pelt towards the race track, changing back to my human form before finally revealing myself. Felix, Ralph, and Tamora are watching the big-screen thingy, the racers zooming around the track.

"There you are, kid. Thought we were going to have to send out more search parties." says Ralph, grinning. I smile back.

"Where's sis?"

"She went to the castle with her president-ness to get cleaned up. She fell into the Nesquik-sand pit." Felix shivers, then continues. "She should still be there." I nod, taking off once they point me in the right direction. Ralph trails after me, trying to act like he isn't following me. It kinda irks me that he's following me. I could cover more ground much quicker if I could only go tiger.

When we finally get to the castle, Vanillope greets us at the door, bringing us to the bedroom me and Sis will be sharing. It's pretty big, in my opinion, with a bunkbed, a closet, two chests of drawers, a large window overlooking a field of . . .something, with dark brown curtains that smell suspiciously like Tootsie rolls. And, of course, everything is made of candy.

"Well, someone's finally back. Let's explore together tomorrow, okay?" asks Moon, giving me a hug. I nod, returning the hug warmly. She has a small box of push-pins, as well as some dark, almost black, blankets. She seems to be attaching the blankets to the ceiling, concealing the top of the bunkbed from view. I raise an eyebrow, and she flexes her hand in a claw motion.

I nod, catching on. Since her natural form is her Lioness one, she prefers to sleep in that form. She'll actually _change_ into that form when she falls asleep, so it's probably best to keep people from finding out. A look at a clock on the wall says that it's ten o'clock at night. Even if there's nothing going on tomorrow, it'd be best to go to bed.

We say bye to Ralph, who promises to take us somewhere cool tomorrow; 'Tappers'. The bartender, Tapper, runs the place after-hours and during breaks he hands out root beer and other drinks to other people in the arcade. You have to pay, of course, but still. Moon closes the drapes, casting the room in darkness, before going Lioness.

I give her a hand setting up the rest of the blankets, before putting the rest of the stuff away. She gives me a hug before climbing into bed. I listen to her shifting around for awhile before she finally settle. I slowly drift off to sleep, reflecting how our luck had changed so quickly, and hopefully for the better.

* * *

Moon (POV)

_I was walking in a strange, shadowed place. It seemed to be a forest, but the trees were dead, scorched skeletons, the sky was dark, without moon or stars. I was in my Lioness form, and the air was heavy with the scent of soot and ash as well as. . . flames and blood. I could hear cries of pain, fury, hatred, and terror around me. Firelight approaches me._

_What emerges from the trees terrifies me less than it should have. The people who hated me in my old game, holding torches, reddish with fire and making dark, black smoke, surround me. Each one holds a different weapon, each one terrifying. Spears with barbed points, long whips with metal bits at the end, and loaded bows and arrows._

_Then, from behind the town leader, John Arrow, approaches more villagers. Between them, bound with ropes and gagged with filthy cloths, are the only friends and family I've ever known._

_Sun, his arms and legs bound tight, cloak wrapped tightly around his neck, being used to keep him in line._

_Mist, her eyes wide with fear and pain, several cuts and scrapes scattered across her body, an arrow sticking out of her arm._

_Willow, a young Mountain lion cub, a large gash over her eyes and an ear cut in half._

_Birch, her brother, held down and being prodded with spears as he struggled, not-very-small pinpricks covering his entire body, an eye bloodied and sightless._

_All were bound with heavy ropes and chains, looking at me in desperation and fear. I try to move towards them, only to be held down, unable to fight back._

_"This is what happens when you cross us, witch." shouts John, a large knife raised high in his hand. "This is your punishment, and you should also know that this is all. Your. _**Fault**_." he hisses out. A crossbow is aimed, then fired, hitting Birch in the back. He looks at me, the fire burning in his amber eye dying, before he slumps to the ground._

_Willow screams, sobbing, before they hit her in the neck with a spear. Her sobs become unnatural, strangled choking sounds, before she collapses, her mossy green eyes fading, the light leaving them as she falls silent. I fight back as hard as I can, but whoever is holding me remains strong. _

_With a whip, someone strikes Mist's face, long, bloody gashes appearing as she shrieks in agony. They strike again, this time at her neck, then her face again, again, again! __I scream, tears falling from my eyes and blurring my vision. _

_This dr**eam wouldn't stop! **_

**_Again and again, a reoccurring nightmare that would never let up or go away as the weeks go on, never stopping until it was finished. I was helpless to stop them, my pleas and promises and screams, my fangs and fists and wings and claws couldn't do anything to st_**_op or change it._

_Mist finally fell, her face, chest, and back shredded into bloody ribbons. John stepped up to Sun, the last in the line of gruesome and purposeless deaths. He held out the knife, holding it just under my brothers chin, against his neck. He pressed just enough that a small line of blood appeared._

_"Just remember; this is all your fault. Your very _existence_ caused this. You are _useless_, and **endanger everybody**, _**FREAK**_." he spits out the words, before pressing in the knife the rest of the way. I scream as the blood, the life ebbs away from him, his golden eyes dimming to a dirty bronze. He falls, the blood still pouring from him. I scream as they approach me, my fear and sadness hitting me harder than any blow, tears leaking forcefully from my eyes._

_They aim a crossbow at me, a spear, a whip, a knife, prepared to kill me as they killed my family, the only family I'd ever really known. I brace myself as they throw them at me, hitting me, the pain increasing, killing me as I scream in agony at the torture they forced me through. _

_Watching the only people who ever cared for me die made my heart ache worse than the spear plunged deep into it, I can only half wheeze and half sob, before everything fades to nothingness._

I jerk awake with a scream, breathing hard. I look around myself in panic. I hear someone come in and change back to my human form quickly. Someone peeks through the blankets I hung up, looking at me with concern. It's Sargent Calhoun. It takes all my willpower not to lash out and knock her away.

"You okay?" she asks, and I force myself to nod. She looks at me, as if in disbelief.

"Are you sure?" she presses.

"Y-yeah." I turn away, hiding my face. "It was just a nightmare." I look back at her.

"Why are you here, Sarge?"

"Well, I was asked to get you, and then I heard a scream. What was your nightmare about?" I turn away again, laying back down and covering my chest protectively with a pillow before even attempting to answer. Phantom pains spiked through my chest, as if the spear was still there, it seemed.

"What does it matter? It's over now, and it isn't real." I say, trying to sound not scared, sitting back up. The feeling ebbs away some, but not completely; a mere whisper of my dream, just enough to remind me of the horrors I relived each night.

" . . .well, if your sure, you can get up and come with me. Ralph and Vanellope want to bring you over to Tappers. Sun went off on his only little adventure; wouldn't tell us exactly what he was doing, only that he's exploring _Sugar Rush_. Come on." exclaims Calhoun, her tough personality replacing, more or less, her previously more caring attitude. I nod, leaping down from the top bunk to land nearly soundlessly on my feet.

"Impressive. Now let's move out." I follow Calhoun out, grabbing at some different candy things on the way out of the game, as I hadn't really eaten anything in quite awhile. I try to calm myself, but my heart is still beating fast, as if I'm still running, still fighting.

Not for my life, but for my family's.

* * *

**Well, that was fun. And a little more, well, gory than I originally thought it would be. But hey, that's just part of her fears, I guess. **


	7. Food, Drink, and Origins

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, last chapter was. . .fun. In a review, '**Dixie Darlin**' voiced a want for me to expand a little more on the game Sun and Moon came from, so that's what I'm going to do. Some 'Hero's Cuties', because I can't really 'avoid' it forever. Onwards!**

* * *

**Chapter 7:** Food, Drink, and Origins

* * *

Sun (POV)

I made my way cautiously to Diet Cola Mountain. Sneaking out of the castle was easy. I told Vanillope what I was doing, of course. Would be no good if they had to track me down. I had grabbed a bag and filled it with some food and bottles of water before heading in a fast round-about-way to the mountain. When I got inside, his 'royal highness' was asleep.

Dropping the backpack next to the bed, I go a short distance away, so I can practice my claw swipes. _'Keep your claws sheathed when you practice.'_ I remember Moon's instructions, echoing in my mind as I see her demonstrating in my memory.

_'Try to keep you fingers a hairs-breath from the target. When you're actually fighting, your instincts will take over and your claws will come out. You need practice, so you know how and when to let 'em out or keep 'em in. You'll find you own way soon.'_ I extend my paws, choosing a weak looking stalagmite to practice on. I make a few swipes at it. Whenever my fingertips brush it, I readjust how I smack at it, rather than my position.

Arms in more, elbows on the ribs, and, now! I swiped at the stalagmite, my fur just barely brushing it. I repeated this for a few more times, before taking a fighting stance. I kicked, punched, and finally, clawed at it. My claws grazed the surface, leaving four faint lines engraved in it. I repeat this, left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand, until there is a pretty decent-sized mark in the stalagmite. Crisscrossed grooves running about half an inch into it.

"Nice, nice. Maybe when I meet up with Sis later, we can spar." I say aloud, looking at the deep, crossed-over claw marks. They wouldn't be removed easily, which meant I could practice something. An idea came to me. Make up my own mark, or symbol, or something, practice clawing it out, then find and/or make a secret hideout.

And protect my territory. Wait, _what?! _I shake my head. "Tiger instincts, right. Gotta watch that." I mumble, deciding to go check on Cola. He was mumbling in his sleep. I pull a wrist watch from the bag, seeing that it was 8:57 A.M. I nudge at Cola, lightly shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, wake up. It's time to do stuff." I shake a little harder, raising my voice. "Hey, wake up!" I whistled two quick notes. "Come on, it's time to get up and get going!" my final words seemed to do the trick. He sat up with a yawn, looking at me more alertly than I anticipated. He rubbed at his eyes before looking at me again.

"Oh, right. What are we doing?" his stomach growled loudly, and he he placed his hands on it, as if to say, 'quiet'. I hold up the bag, pulling out some water and candy. I push it into his hands before taking a swig from one of the bottles.

"Breakfast." I say simply, making a small face at what I _thought_ was water. It was bubbly, and tasted funny, but was clear like water. I had brought some cake, candy canes, lollipops, and some chocolate bars. Cola had been digging into a slice of cake and drinking the stuff, which tasted more familiar on the second sip. He raised an eyebrow at the face I made.

"What is this?" I hold up the bottle as I lick a candy cane.

"Soda. Sprite, Mountain Dew, or 7Up; could be any of them. Why do you ask?" I take another swallow before answering. At the mention of the different soda names, it comes back. This was soda, how could I forget? Even several months in a forest-y world shouldn't cloud my memory that badly.

"It's been a long time." Is all I say. How could I explain that I wasn't from a game, I was from the real world? Or at least, what I thought was the real world? Where I had been a player, rather than been part of a played game? I shrug those thoughts off of me as I take my candy cane and start crunching on it. I take one chocolate bar and a tiny slice of cake, but didn't get to eat much more of what I brought.

Cola seemed to inhale the rest of the food, so he hadn't eaten for a few days, at least. There was truth in his words, even if he didn't know when he respawned in here. He ate and drank nearly everything in the bag, all but a last few bits of cake and chocolate. His belly sticks out a bit from the amount he ate, and he groaned a little as he lay back down.

"Okay, I definitely ate to much. I-" he burped, looking like he might get sick. "I think I've had enough." I try not to laugh, but a snort escapes me.

"Well, at least you got something to eat. Anything I could do to help at the moment?" he shook his head rather weakly, it seemed, or maybe he just didn't want to move to much. I poked experimentally at his stomach, and he groans, curling in on himself, trying to glare at me. I shrug, taking another drink of my soda.

"I h-hate you . . . you little double *Burp* striker." he moans, holding his stomach. He doesn't sound serious, though; he sounds sick.

"Sorry." I try my best to sound sincere, and he half nods. I curl up at the base of the bed, looking around the mountain's interior. There was some sort of track carved into the mountains rock around the hot springs -was it made of rock candy? It smells a little bit like chocolate- and a half built, more professionally made -in my opinion- track up in the air, not meeting in the middle over the pool.

I could feel my mind drifting and my eyes getting heavy. I woke up very early thes'morning; much earlier than I usually do, and I went to bed late anyhow. A little nap wouldn't hurt anyone. I yawned, curling my tail over my nose, my legs pulled up to my belly, before remembering. I can't let anyone know I'm a Were-cat. So, I picture my tiger form staying the way it is when I fall asleep, locking it there, before finally drifting off.

* * *

Moon (POV)

The candy I ended up grabbing was some chocolate, a candy cane, and some sort of mint-smelling thing. I nibbled on them quietly as we left, feeling rather shocked at the sweet taste. The sweetest thing in the game we were zapped into, _'Enchanted Forest Questers'_, had been some blackberries I'd chanced upon before all the chaos started up.

I nibbled absentmindedly as we rode to Game Central Station, made our way through the small crowds of people before climbing onto the train to go to Tappers. I shuddered at the crackling electricity sounds, trying to bring my mind elsewhere, with little success. The next crackle seemed to bring the phantom pains back to my chest, over my heart.

I have to stifle a gasp. I didn't want anyone to know about my nightmares. How could I explain it properly, when I have trouble voicing lesser fears? I shake my head as we step off the train, trying to gather my wits. We walk down a hallway before stepping through an open doorway into the bar itself. There were several bars with chairs here and there, large kegs at the farther ends, and the man himself, Tapper, swerving out some drinks before walking over towards us.

He smiled, offering a hand and welcoming me to the arcade. Ralph, Vanellope, and Felix are already seated farther down, so me and Sarge join her. I look away when Felix gives Calhoun a kiss, making a small face. Vanellope is doing the same, before waving me over. I take a seat between her and Ralph. Felix is at Vanellope's right, and Calhoun just beyond him.

Tapper serves us up tall glasses of root beer. I sniff at it, before taking a sip. The flavor is good, very good, much better than I could remember having before. I take gulps, listening as the others chatted. So far, only these four people know that me and my brother were once Players. I've finished my first glass, and was starting on another when Vanellope asked me a question.

"So what was your game about, anyway?" I look at her, then the others. I finally decide truth over lies.

"Well, first off it was called _'Enchanted Forest Questers'_. The player could choose to use either the boy or the girl character, and choose a name to be called by. Since there wasn't actual voices that spoke, but rather these text boxes, it made some things easier, or harder, depending. It's basically a world made of human settlements in different areas.

"I guess that there were actually one human settlements, and then dwellings of magic clans that appeared human. The Player helped the townsfolk fight off 'monster', like werewolves, vampires, witches, and so on, besides doing 'Quests'. The quests were when a villager would ask you to do something, like get some sort of medicine plant, rescue someone, etc., and in return, you get a useful item."

I gesture with my hands between sips of root beer, trying to emphasis on the more significant things.

"There were lots of places you could explore in the woods or mountains or plains, but the Player didn't have to go to all of them. There are hidden things in some of them, whether it be super-rare items or new animals or people. You could play the game forever, sorta, but it basically ends when you defeat the final boss, which is really hard to do."

There was silence for a minute or so as the others thought over all this. I take another swallow of the root beer, feeling a little more relaxed than I had in a while.

"So, what did you do when you got," Felix gestures vaguely, "_magicked_ into the game?" I can't help but laugh a little.

"'Magicked', good one." I can't hold back my giggles for a moment, before finally stopping. "Well, the other characters assumed we were from one of the secret areas, and we went with that. Sun joined with the village people, and I joined the Mountain Lion clan. They are swift, can jump high and climb fast. We have no fear, no weakness, and are strong united."

"So, when did all the trouble begin?" asks Calhoun, giving me an odd look. I take another drink from my cup before answering.

"Well, during game-play, since I didn't look enough like the Clan to be there and fit in the background there, I became a background character for a friendly wizard in the forest, at the very foot of the mountains. I learned all kinds of potions; when Sun and I got together again to hang out, I brought this really cool potion the accelerated plant growth, I think. The villagers followed and spotted us, blamed me of witchery, whipped me, and separated me from Sun."

Everyone becomes silent. I look at them, feeling rater confused and kinda jittery. They look at eachother, shock written across their faces, while Felix seemed horrified. I hunch my shoulders some, taking another drink from my glass, draining it completely. I push it away before glancing back up at them.

"Did you say that they_ whipped_ you? You didn't mention that before." Felix finally asks, shock and a hint of horror clear in his voice. I lean on the counter, trying to think. I nod absently, holding up a hand for another root beer, which Tapper fills. He glances at the others, who seem more focused on me anyway, before going back to work.

I take a long swig from my cup, before Ralph speaks up. "Kid, are you joking? Your acting as if it was no big deal." he asks, and I shrug.

"Compared to other things, it wasn't a big deal. I was more worried about keeping my brother and friends free of blame and surviving rather than what my punishment was. I was different, associated with magic; to them, magic is bad, and the thing they blame all the bad stuff for." I reply, rather bitterly at the end, thinking over what John Arrow, the town leader did. I used to like bow and arrows, because you could shoot from a distance and never be seen.

However, since they used that often enough to try and hunt _me_. . .well, you get the idea. A headache suddenly made itself known, and I rub at my head slightly to try and get rid of some of the pain. My belly began to burn, reminding me of hot embers in a burned down fire. Useful for starting up another fire, but prone to being to hot before burning out.

_'It must have been the sweets and the root beer.'_ I think, trying to gather my thoughts, without little success. _'To much sugar all at once. Meat and fruit for months on end, then lots of sugar; not my best idea.'_ I look up blearily at the others. Everything seems kinda blurred together slightly, and I feel tired, my head pounding and belly aching, a sharp pain appearing in my chest, making it rather hard to breath.

I feel myself leaning back, and must have been pretty far because someone grabs my arm and pulls me closer to the counter. It was Felix. He looked at me with concern, a look that I hadn't seen from anyone in a long time. I must have spaced out for a moment, trying to pull together a clear thought, because someone waves a hand in my face.

I look over to see Calhoun, kneeling down so we're on eye level. She seems to be examining me. for what, I don't know, but she stops me when I reach for my glass.

"What?" I ask, reaching for the glass only to be stopped again.

"Nope, I think you've had enough sugar." she says it sternly, as if I were a soldier of hers that steeped out of line. I didn't really like that comparison.

"From what she's described, there wasn't a whole lot of sweets available, and now that they are, she's had way to much." I didn't really pay her any mind anymore. She had armor, and a strong hit, if my bruises were anything to go by. At the moment, she could beat me in a fight, so why engage in one now? I feel a tug on my shoulder, and look up to see Calhoun.

"We're taking you to a sugar-free zone for now, miss. Come on." I obey, my head aching to fiercely for me to really think. A train ride later we were Game Central Station. My headache lessened, as did my belly-ache, and it became easier to breath. The previous blur that had been thrown on everything lifted somewhat, everything clearer.

As we pass the outlet for Sugar Rush and get farther from it, everything goes downhill. By the time we've ridden another train to who-knows-where, my head pounds, my belly feels hollow, and it becomes difficult to breath, everything blurred beyond any sort of recognition. I'm stumbling around, and only the firm weight on my shoulder keeping me from falling.

Before to long, I'm being lightly pushed onto something that vaguely resembles a bed. I curl up into it, trying my best to breath without the sharp pains racking my chest, curling up slightly.

The last thing I think of is where Sun is at, and why I feel so tired. Everything fades away into comforting blackness.

* * *

Calhoun (POV)

Something wasn't right. Moon had seemed to be feeling better when we got to the station, but as soon as we got into Hero's Duty, everything went downhill. She hardly noticed the soldiers, the weapons, if at all. She seemed to be struggling to get enough air, which wasn't a good sign. I'd brought her to the tech/medical department, where one of the guys was examining her.

Johnson had finally finished, but he seemed rather confused and concerned. Not good.

"I can't find anything obvious that's causing the problems. She fatigued, and is having trouble breathing."

"She seemed to be doing better out in the station, but it got worse when we came here." pipes up Felix, standing on his tiptoes to see Moon. I sigh, before someone bursts into the door. It's Vanellope, and Ralph is just behind her.

"Sun, missing. . .Turbo, dungeon, escape, help. . ." she pants, out of breath. Ralph rolls his eyes slightly before explaining. They believe Turbo was trying to get the to the Code Vault, when Sour Bill stopped him at the door. They were entering Sugar Rush when he was trying to get out.

"He's currently in the dungeon, and won't stop yapping on about gold or something, but we think he knows where Sun is, but he won't talk." finishes Ralph.

"And you think I'll be able to get it out of him. Wreck-it, Fix-it, stay put and keep an eye on Moon. Johnson, tell Kohut that he'll have to man the fort. Vanellope, your with me." I stride out of Hero's Duty, with Vanellope in tow.

* * *

**There is a reason why she got all, well, like that, and it'll all be explained some on the next chapter. Please review, leave suggestions, and all that. Later!**


	8. Disaster Magnets

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, here we are again. Things will get turned around soon, I think, then some funny chapters, I believe, to lighten up the mood before. . . something. Suggestions would be helpful. Onwards! To adventure and beyond!?**

* * *

**Chapter 8:** Disaster Magnets, part 1

* * *

Cola (POV)

Well, this had to be my worst day ever. I was locked up in the dungeon, Gold was sick, and I had no way to prove that I wasn't Turbo. I'd woken up feeling only slightly better, but Gold had been in trouble. He was having trouble breathing, and seemed very tired. I'd managed to get him on the bed. His eyes didn't focus directly on me, and he complained of being tired and chest pains. He thought that his sister, Crescent Moon, would be able know what to do.

He pointed me in the direction that he thought the way out was, before slipping into a troubled sleep. A strange golden glow had shimmered on his body, and his face contorted in pain until it dissipated. I spread a big candy wrapper on him before finding the exit, memorizing the way in from the outside, and running flat out for the castle where they were staying.

I knocked on the door, only to be greeted by Sour Bill. While I was glad to see my 'former' adviser, he wasn't to thrilled himself. When I tried to explain, leading to a description of some other stuff and me saying my full name, leading to me almost being caught in the 'welcome mat is a trapdoor' thing. I decided to try looking outside the game, only to be stopped by an invisible force field.

I strained against it, before finally giving up. That's when Ralph and Vanellope showed up. Sis passed through the entrance with ease. They both froze when they saw me. I had tried to get away, but Ralph grabbed me up. I admit that I did appear to be Vanellope's doppelganger, to some degree, and my explanations landed me here. In the dungeon.

I laid back down with a sigh, trying to think if I could pull a jailbreak and help Gold, when someone opened the cell door. I sat up too quickly, and stifled a pained groan. My stomach was still stuffed to the brim, making me feel sick. In walks someone I only glimpsed while my code was merged with Turbo, and only at a distance. She was tall, with blond hair and metal armor from the neck down.

Vanellope peeked in, determination clear on her face. "Hello, my name is Sargent Calhoun. I believe you know where a friend of ours is." I try to sit up a little straighter.

"I don't know if Gold is your friend, but he's mine, and he needs his sister. He sent me to get her." Sargent Calhoun stalked over to me, towering high above me.

"We're looking for someone named Sun. Leather clothes, gold fur cloak, dark brown hair with gold highlights, gold eyes. Know him?" she asks sternly. I shake my head.

"I know Gold. He's my tiger friend. His sister is Crescent Moon, and he needs help. He's having trouble breathing and-" in one depth move, Calhoun grabbed me by the front of my shirt and lifted my quicker than my stomach could really handle.

"No more games, Turbo. Even if you've manipulated the code to make this form, you ain't fooling no one." she growls, tossing me roughly to the ground.

"I am _not_ Turbo." I snap, rising to my feet.

"I am Cola von Schweetz, prince of Sugar Rush and game leader with my sister Vanellope. I only want the best for my kingdom, my sister, and my friends. I have a friend that could be dying _right now_, and all he wants is to see his own sister like I've been wanting to see mine. Hug her, play with her, but I've been_ trapped_, forced to watch as a _monster_ destroys _everything_ that I ever tried to protect!" I take deep breaths after my angry outburst, turning so I'm glaring at the wall rather than them.

I feel a touch on my shoulder, and turn to see Vanellope. She seems to be analyzing me, my face, everything about me. She brushes the hair from my eyes and stares at something on my forehead. She lightly traces something there, and I step back, not really liking her touching me like that.

"It really is him. I thought you would be. . ." she trails off, smiling and hugging me tight.

"Could you please tell me what is happening?" asks Calhoun, her voice curious rather than mad. Turns out, Vanellope had 'kinda sorta' unlocked her memories of me about a week ago when she found an old, hand-drawn picture of us together. Calhoun seems to relax somewhat, as if I was a threat before.

"We have more urgent matters. My friend Gold told me to get his sister. They're staying here at the castle." I explain, as we quickly leave the dungeon.

"No one named Gold is staying at the castle. Moon, and her younger brother Sun are." replies Vanellope. Once we get outside, Calhoun throws a metal pack into the air, and it unfolds into a hover board looking-thing. We climb on, Vanellope holding one of the Sgt.'s legs, and me gripping her. It's fast, so fast, like a kart, but somehow different.

Trapped as I was, merged with Turbo, I could only feel things distantly, so I could never enjoy the races through feeling. As if I could enjoy them period, being 'possessed' by a physco.

When we make it to the mountain, and get inside, I take them straight over to where Gold is. He's awake, looking slowly from one person to the next.

"Vanellope, where's Moon?" he asks, slowly reaching a hand (paw?) forward. His breathing was shallow and fast, small gasps that didn't seem to get him quite enough air.

"How do you know me?" she asks suspiciously. He slowly shakes his head.

"It's me, Sun." he gets out finally. Vanellope and Calhoun are clearly bewildered, but I don't get what the problem is.

"I'm a Were-cat. . . but I cant change back. . . .I need sister." he gets out, his eyes slowly closing. I understood his meaning a little quicker than the others.

"He has this form, and then a human one, I guess. Is your sister a Were-cat?" he nods slowly.

"I think. . . that our magic. . . . is linked. If we're too . . . far away . . . ." he trailed off, slipping into unconsciousness. We waste no time scooping him up and hurrying to the outlet. But as they fly through, the barrier knocks me off the board. Vanellope looks at me with unhappy eyes, and Calhoun just raises her eyebrows. She's holding Gold 'damsel in distress' style,.

"Go on without me! We can figure out how to fix this later!" they nod, continuing on done until they're out of sight. I sigh, sitting on the edge of the rainbow bridge. I look up when I hear the sirens. The doughnut cops are coming up the bridge on their vehicle things. I stand, turning and running for the outlet before remembering I can't go through.

I hit it full speed, and it's like hitting a slightly stretchy brick wall. I bounce back, completely winded. I'm on my feet and running, only to skid to the edge of the bridge. I teeter there, looking back at the candy policeman. They pull out their batons, brandishing them threateningly. I've seen, as 'King Candy', how violent these guys can get. I'm small - they could beat me up easily.

I looked over the edge for a moment. It's quite a long ways down, and I'm not _that_ desperate. I take a tiny pace forward, away from the edge, but the cops are getting closer.

"Well, looks like Turbo is trapped in here. Are you sure this is him, though?" asked Duncan, the shorter, white-frosted doughnut cop asks. Winchel, the taller, brown-frosted cop, nodded.

"Fits the description we got from Sour Bill. He must have messed with the code or something. Come here, little guy." he coaxed, not exactly mean, but more stern-like. I hold my ground, looking at them as blankly and emotionless as I can. Can't run, can't fight; this is my standard response. Not like anyone but me remembers it as such.

"I am _not_ Turbo. My name is Cola." I say flatly, trying not to show my anger and fear at _his_ name. Scowling, they advance on me. I still refuse to move. When they try to grab me, I back up; right off the edge! The cops shout in surprise. I flail my arms around, as if I could fly. I hit the ground with a **THUD**, fiery pain in my leg, before darkness silenced all.

* * *

Felix (POV)

Nothing was helping Moon. The medical stuff, my hammer, nothing. That my hammer hadn't worked completely baffled me. Not even the bruise on her face, which was more obvious, didn't heal up. I'd been pacing back an' forth, back an' forth, in the room. Ralph was sitting, glancing at me or Moon every now an' then. The most worrying thing of all, she wasn't improving. She was slowly getting worse, it seemed to me.

An' then something happened. Ralph noticed it first. He silently got my attention. Moon's breathing was even, an' deep, rather than shallow an' fast like before. She appeared to be at peace, rather than in pain. Then, a silvery glow covered her form. What in Lands name it was, I wan't sure, but she suddenly wasn't there. In her place was a lion.

It was big, with light fur and big paws. It rolled over in their sleep, long, ivory-colored claws sliding out. I backed away slowly. Ralph looked surprised, to say the least. When the lion started writhing in their sleep, I weren't sure what was going on. It kept muttering something, before it's words raised to more of a near-shout.

But it was Moon's voice.

"No, please! Leave them alone, take me instead!" she cries out, her long claws beginning to tear up the bedding. Ralph an' I kept our distance, but I could feel a pang of concern.

"No, please, I don't even know them!" she cried out again. Tears leaked from her eyes, an' then she struggled fiercely, but as if her arms were bound to her sides.

"I swear, their innocent! They don't even know anything about magic._ Leave his hammer alone!_" she grew tense an' silent for a long moment. "He got his golden hammer in a quest. Please, they didn't do anything!" Ralph turned to me with a raised eyebrow. I shrug helplessly in return. I can only guess what she was dreaming about, but by golly, it sounded real rough!

"He just _is_ that way, he's nothing like the giants! Ralph's s'posed to wreck things, and Felix is s'posed to fix things, it their job. And Vanellope's not an elf, she's just small." the Moon-sounding lion pleaded, before horror fills her features. She started thrashing, her claws digging deep into the mattress.

"NO! PLEASE!" she screamed, an' I flinched, an' Ralph did, too. Her scream was filled with hurt and pain. "Felix, Ralph, Vanellope. . . . . . . . .no. . . ." her voice was barely a whisper now, hopelessness an' heartbroken.

"Get away from me!? I knew you were trouble! Get off of me, you heartless monster! Get the wing off, Calho-" She stopped short, jerked once, twice, then was still. Too still, in my opinion. I approached slowly, and despite Ralph waving for me to stop, lightly nudged her shoulder.

"Moon? Are you alright?" I ask timidly. Her eyes open slowly, before focusing on me. They widen as she jerks up, crouched on the bed and looking around wildly. I take a step back, and she snarls. I freeze, but Ralph takes a different approach.

* * *

**Well, I think that I'll wrap it up there. Expect some chaos, sadness, extreme misunderstandings, and pain both physical and emotional. Next chapter could be done soon. **

**Please review and leave suggestions for things to happen to any of the characters.**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On. -**** Moon and Sun~**


	9. Disaster Magnets, part 2

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, last chapter was. . . a little crazy, I guess. I think that 'Disaster Magnets' by become a three-part thing. . . .Onwards!**

* * *

Warning, small amount of gore, broken bones

* * *

**Chapter 9:** Disaster Magnets, part 2

* * *

Felix (POV)

_"Moon? Are you alright?" I ask timidly. Her eyes open slowly, before focusing on me. They widen as she jerks up, crouched on the bed and looking around wildly. I take a step back, and she snarls. I freeze, but Ralph takes a different approach._

He steps up behind me, but before he can do anything, she backs away. She glances between the two of us, fear and relief crossing her features.

Her eyes wander slowly around the room. She looks back at us. "Moon? Are you alright?" I ask again. She pauses, before hiding her face with her paws. Her shoulders start shaking, muffled sobs slipping out. Ralph and I glance at eachother again, unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, I step forward an' sit next to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. Her sobs quiet instantly.

She looks up, her furry face and muzzle soaked with tears, looking at me in disbelief. She glances from my hand to me again. "What are you doing?" she asks, as if in total disbelief. I gently rub her shoulder, a bit surprised at the question.

"I want to help you to feel better. It looked like quite the nightmare you were having." I reply. She stares at me, before burying her face in her paws again. Ralph sits on the floor next to the bed, and carefully pets her back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks gently. Her head pops up again, staring at him, before glancing at his hand. She stares at it for a moment, before shuddering and looking at her paws.

"I-I guess. It was terrible." her eyes glittered with fear. "I was back in the burnt forest. The stars and moon were gone, the sky dark as pitch, and red firelight appeared and disappeared through the blackened, skeletal trees. And, they arrived."

"Who?" she looks at Ralph, meeting his eyes before looking down again. "The villagers. Lots of them, surrounding me. The most horrible weapons with them, the torchlight an evil red. The town leader came, a-and behind him-" tears raced down her cheeks, soaking her fur and dripping onto the blankets. I fished out a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her.

After looking at it blankly for a moment, she gently wipes her face, then cuddles it like a teddy bear. "They were all there. All of them, tied up, unable to run, and I could't help them!" she shouted, curling up and hiding her face again.

"Who was tied up?" asks Ralph, more softly than I've heard before. She looked up tearfully, taking a deep breath. "Mist, Birch, Willow - all mountain lions that I knew, and my only friends. Sun was there, t-too. It was all my fault. If I wasn't a Were-cat, they'd all be safe. He wouldn't have. . . " she trailed off, licking slowly at one arm. After calming down a little more, she looked back at us.

"It was all my fault. I'm magic, and _he killed them!?_"

"_What?!_" was all I could think to say, but Ralph seemed frozen, the fist at his side clenched tight, his features set in an angry scowl. She curled up under Ralphs' giant hand, as if afraid. But, by golly, who_ wouldn't_ be with a nightmare like that?

"He killed them, and I couldn't do anything!? They made me watch, I begged, I wanted to die instead, but he wouldn't listen!? And then. . . " her breath caught. She uncurled, looking at both of us. She looked from my chest, to Ralphs', before bursting into hysterics. Ralph gently nudged her, and she leapt at him. He was obviously startled, but she only wrapped her arms around him, as far as she could go, sobbing.

After a moment, Ralph wrapped his big arms around her. After a few minutes, she pulled back, sitting on his lap. ". . . . .You guys were there. . ." My eyes met Ralphs'. This couldn't be good. "You were tied up, with Vanellope. They were going to kill you, too. And then-" her breath hitched.

"Sarge was there. Sh-she had, I mean, she was-" tears raced down her cheeks, her claws flexing swiftly beneath her, digging slightly into Ralph's leg. He winced, but remained silent. She noticed, however, and instead sank her sharp teeth into her arm.

"Moon, don't!" I tried to stop her, but she pushed me back. She put her arm to her side, which now has a several small puncture wounds, slowly bleeding, but tucked it underneath her, wincing slightly herself.

"They thought you guys were magic, and Sarge was there, holding me back in the end. They . . . killed you. But slowly, not swift and painless like the others, they slit you, or aimed bad on purpose, and you could only look at me pleadingly, begging me to help. . . . . .but I couldn't! I wasn't strong enough, I couldn't fight it! I wasn't. . ." she sniffled, looking down at the ground.

"I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't even fight afterwards, and they. . . ." she trailed off, touching her heart with the back of her hand. "They killed me." she whispered, tears trailing down her muzzle. "They killed me, and everyone I cared about. And nothing I did stopped them. I couldn't protect them. . . I couldn't protect my family." Moons' voice had slowly dropped into a whisper, just barely legible.

"You think of us as family?" Ralph suddenly asks, incredulous and hopeful. She looks up at him, confusion lacing her features.

"I don't know." she stated. "I don't know anything anymore. I just want the nightmares to stop." she drooped, tears dripping off her muzzle and onto Ralphs pants. I shuffled over some and laid a hand on between her shoulders, rubbing in a calming circle. She jerked a little, and something seemed to shift on her back. Something drifted to the ground.

I picked it up. It was a feather, the exact same shade as Moon's fur; a very light tan off white mix. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. She climbed onto the bed before extending large wings, that spanned between 7 an' 8 feet, the tan-white on the back an' a purer white on the bottom, the side facing us. I stared, open-mouthed, but Ralph grinned and nudged her. She squeaked a little, toppling over onto the bed.

She stood up, flaring her wings, smacking playfully at his hand. "Yep, wings. I'm awesome." she muttered, licking slowly at the teeth marks on her arm. Ralph gave her a bit of a look.

"Why do you lick yourself?" she looked up, surprised, before licking her slightly red muzzle.

"I dunno, I just do. I would usually just splash a bit in a stream, lick up most of the moisture and take a flight around the forest. I'm not entirely sure why now, it's just comforting. feeling something other than pain. . . . . ." she trailed off from her rambling, and Ralph gave her a nudge.

"Well, why don't you let Felix fix it?" he asks. She shakes her head slowly.

"I don't know if that'll help. It might make it worse." she glanced at my apologetically. I frowned a little.

"Why would it make it worse? What I really don't get is why you bit yourself in the first place, miss." She looked down guiltily.

". . . . .wwweeeeelllll, I still kinda . . . . feel the pain . . . .from being killed in my . . . . .nightmares? And, a little real pain distracts me from it?" she phrased it more like a question. I couldn't really think of a good response to that. She still hurt after she woke up? My Land, her nightmares were real rough!

"Can we just not talk about it anymore? In fact. . . . ." she looked around the room suspiciously. She sniffed the air, disgust and curiosity replacing guilt an' her last traces of fear and terror.

"It smells like bugs, metal and gasoline, _leh_." she sniffed again, frowning. "And also. . . .*sniff sniff* hard boiled eggs. In here." after sniffing a few more times, she looked directly at Ralph. He held up his hands up in self defense.

"Hey, I wash up regularly!" she giggled, her tail twitching.

"I was just kidding, _shell-fer-brains_. Laughing is fun." she frowned for a moment, before perking her ears towards the door. It was pushed open a few seconds later, a small, golden eyed tiger peeking through. At the sight of him, Moon leapt off the bed and ran at him with a drawn-out roar. The tiger roared back, but deeper, and the two tackled eachother into a furry, rolling heap.

They finally stopped, but instead of fighting, they were hugging. The little tiger waved at me, before nuzzling Moon. "Crescent, you okay?" he asked her anxiously. His sounded familiar, but I couldn't place where.

"I'm fine, Gold. And I think we can drop it though. I'm pretty sure that they know." his eyes widened, before he frowned sternly at her.

"Which doesn't mean you run off all crazy and distance yourself. These people are _nice_, we haven't met _anyone_ who isn't. And from what the tech slash medical team have figured out, we can't stray to far from one another anyway, so _hah_." as he finished, a golden glow lingered on him, before he turned into Sun! This was becoming very confusing.

Turning and seeing my confused expression, he shrugged.

"Were-cats. This is my natural form, and that's hers," he nodded to Moon. "We have different names for them, but only because we didn't want anyone else to find out. From what the tech slash medical team have gathered, Crescent and I share an energy source-our magic, in other words. It's what allows us to transform, but since we were so far apart, and in our other forms, it was harder to share our magic. The connection was stretched way to taught."

"But what about when we were far away in Sugar Rush?" questioned Moon.

"It's fine if we're in a game together, but in different games, it's a no-go, I s'pose. I think Game Central Station would be alright, like a neutral area. When Tamora and Vanellope brought me out of Sugar Rush, they saw me transform, I woke up, they brought me in here, and I was all better. She still made the doctors check me over." he made a face.

"What I don't like is this game is new-I never got a chance to see how it works." the door opened up entirely. In walked Tammy.

"Who says you can't, quarter pint. All you need is a suit and a gun." he made a face at her.

"I am not that small. And besides-"

"Actually, it suits you." Moon teased, dodging the hand that swiped at her ear. She knocked him over, and he sprang to his feet.

"The other thing is, well . . . it's easy to be brave when your on the outside, and not really threatened with death. Out there-" he glanced vaguely at the door. "it's real. Everything is real, and can happen. There's just different rules, laws of physics, and other stuff that restricts or gives more than our world." he sighed, rubbing at his face.

"I want to race-I guess that's all to really say, I guess. I just don't know if I should if Crescent can't join me or take on another job. Before, it had been in the realms of doing, but now. . ." I was touched by his thoughtfulness.

"You don't need to feel like that. I'm sure I could fix something up. She's not that much bigger than the rest of the racers." Vanellope came bouncing in, gave Moon a surprised look before looking her up and down.

"Okay, maybe your a little too big now, but with a little bit of sugar and some sort of theme, you could be an obstacle or a fan or something." With a single swipe, Moon knocked her off her feet. She glitched to her feet, shoving at the lion, who shrugged.

"Sorry, used to roughhousing. Can we just go back. . . "she paused, before smiling softly at her brother. ". . . .home?"

"Well, I don't see why not. Come on!" Vanellope replied. She began jabbering on about how she had discovered her brother, with Ralph and Calhoun, and how he had been merged with Turbo, and everything else. It was, well, surprising, to say the least.

* * *

Cola (POV)

It took me awhile to realize that I was even conscious. When I did, I became fully aware of my situation. It was painful to take deep breaths, my left leg felt like it was on fire, and I was chained to the wall in a dark room, presumably the dungeon. I couldn't move my arms more than about a foot from the wall, but with a broken leg and cracked ribs, besides the heavy locked door, I wasn't going anywhere regardless.

As more time passed, it began to feel less likely that I would ever get out. And something more worrying came to my attention. My left leg was drenched in a warm liquid, and when I managed to position myself to feel it, I could feel something hard sticking out of my leg, radiating with dizzying pain when I touched it.

Bone. My leg bone was sticking out, and I had no means of securing it or stopping the bleeding. After what felt like a long time, I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

**I thought that it was appropriate to show what happened to Cola after he hit the ground. HE fell from so high up, it makes sense that he broke something.**

**Oh, and if anyone has ideas as to what should happen in the funny chapters, such as making Cola and Sun's karts, Moon's knew place in the game, or even something random, don't feel shy to speak up about it.**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On. - Moon and Sun~**


	10. Home is Where the Heart Is

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, this should be the start of something more. . . .fun, rather than all the previous darkness. After Cola is sprung from the dungeon, of course, and his injuries are taken care of.**

* * *

**Chapter 10:** Home is Where the Heart Is

* * *

Cola (POV)

I jerk awake, looking around myself in panic. Then, the heavy door in front of me was thrown open, the hard candy-metal scraping against the sugar cube-stone floor loudly. There stood Sgt. Calhoun, relief and worry radiating from her, but it seemed a little out of place on her usually stern features. I tried to call out, say that I'm here, because even with the light trickling in, my section of the room was swathed heavily in darkness.

She scanned the room, before turning, as if to leave. I finally managed to make a audible noise, but it was more of a pain filled sound only vaguely resembling a word. She paused, turning back, and I tried again, louder, to say '_please_'. She turned fully, frowning through the doorway before fully stepping inside. She studied the darkness, her eyes pausing where I was.

Pulling a gun from her hip, she got closer. And I begin to feel the first bit of fear. Maybe they thought I was Turbo, and were just going to kill me. I tried to press myself against the wall, holding back a whimper, but the chain clanked against itself. Sgt. finally made it to where I was, paused, then cursed under her breath. Turning she shouted,

"President, get over her with that key!" a yell of triumph and the pitter-pattering of footsteps preceded Nelly's entrance. She glitched over the Sgt., handing her the key. She stared at my leg, and, what I can only assume, the growing puddle of blood. The chains were unlocked one after the other, but I couldn't quite hold my own weight.

As I sagged towards the floor, Sgt. picked me up, being cautious of my leg, but not knowing my other problem. Stepping out into the hallway, Sgt. started for the stairs while Vanellope glitched off somewhere. Every movement brought a pained whimper up my throat, which I did my best to swallow down. Some escaped me, besides a few small squeaks, as Sgt. carried me up the stairs and out of the dungeon.

I closed my eyes, not really trying to stop my pain sounds from escaping; why do that, when it hurts so bad? I closed my eyes, whimpering a little as something hard bumps me, and I'm on the ground. Someone mutters somewhere above me, a small '_click_' sound, before a searing, blinding pain shoots through my leg. My eyes snap open as I take a deep breath, the pain flashing through my chest as I scream.

I'm left breathless afterwards, my eyes screwed shut as I take in small, painful breaths. "Sorry, but I thought that it's be best for Felix not to see the bone." Sgt. explained, and I opened my eyes some. I couldn't form any words, so I nodded at her, trying for a smile that turned into more of a pained grimace. Black dots danced in front of my eyes, making it difficult to see exactly where I was.

After a minute or so, people crowded into my line of vision. Something bright and shiny flashed and hit my leg. It hurt for a moment more before leaving. I turned to see Felix, his hammer in hand and slightly bloodied, as well as Ralph, Sgt., Nelly, Gold and a big lion. Gold padded over to me and wrapped me in a hug. Gasping, I tried to push him off.

Frowning, the lion gently pulled him off before lightly feeling my chest. After doing this for a few moments, she pushed lightly on a spot one of my ribs. It hurt bad, very bad. I managed a squeak, and the lions frown deepened.

"Felix, you still have some fixing to do." one bone at a time, the lion found all the broken spots, while Felix fixed them. When they were done, I was finally able to breath properly. I sat up, smiling. After some introductions, meeting Gold's sister Crescent, finding out that they have different forms, and officially meeting the rest of the gang, Crescent ordered me off to bed.

The only problem being, I technically didn't_ have_ a bed, or a room, for that matter. Crescent remedied this problem by grabbing me by the back of my hoodie, in her sharp-toothed-jaw I may add, and lumbering off somewhere or another. Gold kept up with us, Vanellope somehow perched on his back, both laughing at me. I could even feel the laughter through my hoodie from the lioness holding me.

What she ended up doing was bringing me into this guest bedroom, where I guess they'd been staying, dropping me on the bottom bunk. Felix, Sgt., and Ralph had followed after us. After shooing them off, Crescent scooped Vanellope off her brother, holding her as she had been holding me, dropped her on the bed beside me.

Ignoring Vanellope's protests, she dropped a blanket on the both of us before grabbing Gold by the scruff. He squeaked some as he was dropped on the top bunk, peering down almost fearfully, ears laid back. Rolling her eyes, Crescent closed the curtains and shut off the lights before climbing up to join her brother. Eventually, I fell asleep, smiling, for I was reunited with my sister at last.

* * *

_The next couple of days was, busy, to say the least for the new band of friends. After Cola's glitch stopped paining him, he had been practicing teleporting almost nonstop with Vanellope. They were trying to think of a good candy theme for Sun, so that he could better fit in as a racer in Sugar Rush. Moon had been exploring, drawing a map of Sugar Rush and hanging out in general, unable to really focus on finding an exact job._

_Although every thing had been hard to adjust to, things were beginning to settle quite well for the little group, who was slowly becoming a family, no matter how mix-matched and odd. _

_At this moment, Moon was perched on the edge of one of the cliffs of Diet Cola Mountain, in lioness form _Crescent_, preparing do what she had wanted to do since the very beginning. . ._

* * *

Moon (POV)

I surveyed Sugar Rush from my perch, feeling the slight breeze. No extreme winds to slow me when I leapt. And no one around to stop me, if they could even get up here in time. I was ready. I had to do this; no, I _wanted_ to do this. After everything that had happened, from the nightmares to whatever else, this was going to destroy all my problems.

I needed this release. I don't know what I would do without it. Go crazy, perhaps. I took a deep breath, finalizing my plan in my mind. I would jump off the edge, then-

"_Crescent Moon Sky_! Get away from that edge immediately!" Sarge came out of nowhere on her 'cruiser', giving me her, '_I need to keep Markoski in line cause he's acting like such a scared idiot_' look. I roll my eyes, flicking my tail in annoyance.

"Well, _someone_ got my note! I don't know why you followed me, I wanted to do this alone." she glares at me.

"Are you crazy?!"

"No, but I might if I don't do this." I reply flatly, creeping a little closer to the edge. I stare at my landing pint, the amount of force I would hit it with, and what would come afterwards. I was ready, even if Sarge and whoever else didn't get it.

I relaxed my muscles, took a deep breath, and. . . jumped! The wind made by the fall whipped my ears back and ruffled my fur and feathers, drowning out Sarges' shouts of alarm. I shouted in glee as the wind grabbed at my wings, as I fully spread them out and glided, going higher and higher in the air, feeling absolutely exuberance over my accomplishment.

I had never been able to try something like that back in my old game, only simple gliding and flight maneuvers for take off, but _this_, oh, _this_ was something else. To be able to literally sky dive before using the momentum to fly fast and high, without a single flap to start. . . now _that_, that was something I could definitely get behind.

My momentum mostly lost, I flapped a little here and there to remain air-born, feeling the breeze I was making. Sarge caught up to me in her cruiser, giving me a disapproving look.

"You could have told me that you were going for a flight. Me, Felix, and Ralph have been looking for you everywhere after you left that note." Since I can't shrug in midair, I flick my ears.

"Well, if you had read all of it, you would have understood. Let me guess, Felix came running from my bedroom shrieking like a banshee that I was gonna jump off some exceedingly tall object." Sarge opened her mouth, then closed it.

"Well, pretty much, actually." she relented, trying to suppress a amused smile. She shakes her head. "I still don't see why you didn't tell anyone directly, or why you wanted to do," she gestures vaguely, "_that_, I guess."

"Whats life without a little bit of thrill and doing something that could potentially kill you? You do dangerous stuff everyday, for Wings sake!" I retort, looking down. The Random Roster Race was nearing it's finale, not to far ahead of me. I really had gotten far. Sweet; in a totally _not_ pun-like way. I looked up at Sarge, feeling excitement and a 'stupid' idea forming.

"Well, yes, but that's my job, and I can regenerate. We haven't coded you or your brother in yet, so you can't." she pointed out gruffly.

"Hey, Sarge, wanna go to the race?" she blinks.

"Well, I don't see why not, but what are you-" I didn't give her time to answer. I pulled my wings in closer, open just enough so that I could still glide without damaging them, slanted my nose towards the track, and dived. In my excitement, I let out a drawn out, howl-like roar, that would have echoed and dissipated through the mountains back home.

Here, the sound spread like a huge, banging _**BOOM**_ of thunder, and as I neared the finish line, where the racers were lining up to receive their congrats on getting in the top nine, they all started, looking around in confusion and fear.

And that's when I realized my mistake. I was going too fast; I was going to overshoot the candy-box stands and ram into something beyond the track, if even that. I flared my wings out in a panic, slowing some but not enough, and to stop flying now would result in an even more painful crash-landing. I spread my wings as far as I could, managing to sustain a shaky glide.

I would have rammed into the back of one the stands if I hadn't managed to maneuver between. As it was, I was going fast and close to the ground. I was going to ram straight into the 'Assorted Fans' box at this rate! I flared my wings into two hard, backstroke flaps, hoping to slow enough that I could land when I approached the ground.

Instead, I lost what little momentum I had left and fell to earth from about ten plus feet up.

I was sprawled out, not really wanting to move cause of the achy soreness. After a few moments, I decided that I better get up before Felix, Vanellope, Cola, and whoever else panicked on me. Pulling myself up, I felt a dull ache in my right shoulder, small, sharp flashes going through it when I moved it. Felix, Ralph, Sarge, Cola, Vanellope, and Sun had crowded around me by this time.

I backed up a pace, giving a small growl as a warning to let me have my space. Sun obeyed, having tiger instincts and understanding to boot, but Sarge wasn't fazed in the least. She stepped up to me and laid a hand on my other shoulder, giving me a small grin, which felt rather rare, to be honest.

"Well done, soldier. Maybe you and I could race sometime." I start to stand, rising to my hind legs.

"That would definitely be fun. I wonder if-" as I tried to fold my wings to my back, my right wing was suddenly set on fire, it seemed. With a small shriek, I crouched down low and stopped moving. It was bent funny, in entirely the wrong angle. I felt something snap inside me.

How can I fly without my wings? I can't remain earthbound, the sky is my home! '_I can't fly-I'm trapped-I'm defenseless-I'm nothing.'_ these thoughts repeated themselves in a loop in my head. I couldn't really think of anything else. My freedom of flight had been stolen from me once, but I could still use my wings. Without my wings, I can't do anything.

An injured wing means I'm trapped on the ground, unable to escape or defend. Unable to properly hunt, or even just enjoy myself or patrol and defend my territory from intruders.

The 'territory' thought and a small ding sound, coupled with the lack of pain jolted me back to the present. My wing was fixed, and Felix had his hammer out. I take a deep breath and let it out, trying to hide how shaken up I was.

"Thanks, Felix. Well, I think that's enough excitement for me. I think that I'll go jump off a building now." I grin lopsidedly at Sun, who had became a tiger, and tackled me with a playful growl. After tumbling for a few seconds, with people jumping out of the way, I pinned him down under me, and he squealed. Vanellope appeared out of nowhere, and began _tickling_ me! I was shaking with suppressed laughter, and between her tickling fingers and Gold squirming beneath me, he finally escaped.

Vanellope leaped on his back, and we regarded eachother while Ralph laughed in the background, Felix fretted, and Sarge commenting on how this just got interesting, the figurative 'cherry on top' being when Cola glitched onto my back.

"Hey, I finally got it! Yes!" he gripped my shoulders, careful of where my wings attached, and I made sure that his legs were under them. Gold and I began circling eachother in typical showdown style, hissing playfully and snarling when one strayed to close. The other racers were whispering to eachother not too far away, keeping themselves out of the way. Before Gold called in reinforcements.

"Swizzle, Gloyd, Creumbelina, come one, lets get our game on!" my little brothers three best friends scampered over to him, gathering behind him, unsure of exactly what to do. I did my best to hide a smirk at the admiring look Creumbelina gave him. I had a feeling that she had a crush on him. But Cola wouldn't be outdone and called in his own 'fighters'.

"Minty, Adorabeezle, Rancis, care to help me even the odds?" he called, and they gathered behind me, if a little less enthusiastic. Me and Gold are bigger and taller in our feline forms, Gold just barely reaching Felix's height and me a couple of inches below Sarge's shoulder, when we rise to our hind legs, at least.

"No fair, you have the bigger royal steed!" complained Vanellope. Gold snorted.

"What am I, a smashed kart?" Gold demanded, lashing his tail in mock anger.

"Sorry, sis, but beggars can't be choosers!" Cola retorted. Vanellope scrunched her face up in a glare, before grinning.

"Hey, Ralphie, mind helping me out over here?"

"No problem!" he lumbered over, his giant steps filling the ground with just noticeable tremors. It soon turned into an-all shouting match, gathering the resulting racers into miniature armies of cuteness and strength.

Gold had Vanellope, Ralph, Swizzle, Gloyd, Creumbelina, Jubileena, Taffyta, Candlehead, and Snowanna on his side, while I had Cola, Sarge, Minty, Adorabeezle, Rancis, Sticky, Citrusella, Torvald, and Nougetsia on mine. And there was only person that wasn't in wither of our 'armies' yet.

Felix. He looked between us uncertainly, and when we all started clambering for him to join our different sides, he blushed a bright red, one of his so-called 'honey-glows'. All in all, with a race won, a flight taken, and a mock battle set up and put into action, it was a very satisfying way to start the day.

* * *

**Well, that's that, I guess. Please review, and leave suggestions if ya' want. **

**~Keep Calm and Soar On. - Moon and Sun~**


	11. You Hate Water, I Hate Heights

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and Favorited and followed my story! Believe me, everything helps me to stay motivated and updating regularly. I'm honestly not sure how to end this, but if anyone has any ideas, please speak up!**

* * *

**Chapter 11:** You Hate Water, I Hate Heights

* * *

Moon (POV)

To me, this was the dumbest idea I had ever heard of. Vanellope knew about this secret Sprite swimming hole, a stream running into it in such a way that it formed a waterfall. She had gotten our little friend group together to splash around and look for cool things like these chocolates that were shaped like shells and other stuff.

Ralph, Cola, and Vanellope were currently having a splashing match in the shallows, Sun was in his feline form, swimming around in the deeper water, and Felix and Calhoun were trying there hand at fishing for the chocolate fish that lived in the Sprite watering hole. They had these wrappers on them that made them look like real fish, and while I was tempted to reach in and grab one, there was a problem.

I hate water. Not water so much itself, but just swimming in general. Flying gives me a sense of weightlessness, allowing me to move easily and swiftly all around.

In the water, or any liquid really, I could only go up to escape, I have to push more to get anywhere, I couldn't breath when I need to, and my feathers get soaked and I can't fly. My claws were digging deep trenches in the cake ground under me, inadvertently revealing just how stressed I was. Ralph had climbed out, taking a break from the liquid death trap, I assume.

"Are you gonna join us or what, Metal-eyes?" Vanellope calls cheekily, splashing in my direction. I flinch away from the wet droplets, narrowing my eyes.

"My eyes are silver. They aren't like regular metal." I turn my back, curling my tail around my paws. Unexpectedly, something grabs my scruff! It hurt, because I was at the point where I was nearly grown out of needing to be picked up in that way _period_. I found myself being held between Ralph's giant thumb and forefinger. He lumbered back into the soda pool, and I curled my body high above the water.

"Ralph! Put me back!" I squeal, thrashing uselessly in his grip. On the other side of the pool, Calhoun calls out,

"Come on and enjoy the water, soldier! It's not that bad!"

"Yeah, it's not that bad!" Felix chimed in, pulling hard on his pole as he got a bite. I lay my ears flat against my skull.

"Not helping!" I shout back, right before Ralph plops me next to Vanellope and Cola in the shallows. I stiffen, feeling the cold soda touch the skin beneath my fur for a moment before squeaking and bolting for the nearest bank, not stopping until I've scaled high up into one of the numerous candy cane trees that surround and hide the pool. Everyone is staring at me.

"What?" I ask, irritated and scared.

"Do you have aquaphobia?" calls Calhoun. I blink.

"And that would be?"

"It means your afraid of water. Or in this case, liquids." I shrug.

"I dunno, I just don't _do_ water. I'm used to weightlessness in the air, but in the water. . . " I trail off, shaking out my fur to rid myself of it's dampness. I shift on my perch, flaring my wings to there full length before flapping a few times, big and strong, trying to get rid of the liquid. They seem okay, so I start licking them dry, straightening the feathers for flight.

Everyone has generally gone back to doing what they were doing, and I eventually climb back down from the tree and settle myself on a large jawbreaker not too far from the pool. Gold climbs out and shakes his fur mostly free of water, before ambling over to me, snickering.

"Oh, right, go ahead and laugh it up now, but I _will_ get you back." I snarl, turning my back on him. He hisses and shoves me. Unable to get any sort of traction, I end up slipping off and hitting my muzzle on the ground. I sit up, rubbing at it with a paw animal-style, before turning on him with a snarl. He growls in return, hopping atop the jawbreaker, lips drawn back from his sharp teeth.

I return it, unsheathing my claws, snarling and hissing, ears laid flat. For several tense moments, we stand rigid, fur raised along our spines, claws unsheathed and teeth shown, our eyes hardening into stern sets of harsh silver and unrelenting gold. Something moves out of the corner of my eye, and I turn towards it immediately, growling with a loud _CLICK_ of my snapping jaws.

It's Vanellope; she glitches away in fear, and I begin to return to my senses, right when Gold tackles me. From there, it's an all out whirl of teeth, claws, fists, and kicks as we roll across the ground in a frenzy. We bite and claw and hit, and all I can think is, _'Intruder, intruder! Tear him up, drive him out, defend my home.'_ fur and feathers were flying, and small droplets of blood were scattered across the ground.

Then, a sound. Like a clap, but louder, echoing, and I'm suddenly torn away from the fight. I'm being held by the scruff, but I continue to snarl, reaching out long, curved claws towards my competitor. Then, I'm roughly shaken, rattled down to my core, and when it stops, I feel dizzy and sick to my stomach, hanging limp like a rag-doll.

When I finally come to my senses and get control of my wild instincts, I'm better able to understand what happened. The past few minutes are a blur of fur and teeth and claws, no real thoughts on what I was doing. Gold, by this time, has been put down, and he crouches low. I'm glad to see that he has only a few nicks on him, that in my instinct-driven fighting I'd been unable to actually hurt him.

When I'm dropped on the ground, I stumble and half-fall, too dizzy to remain standing. Felix has, by this time, fixed Gold up with a few whacks of his hammer, and only hesitates a moment before approaching me. I raise my head slowly, willing the dizziness to go away.

"I'm fine, instincts under control. Although shaking me wasn't necessary!" I try to glare up at Ralph, or . . . one of him. I let my head plop down with a groan. Why me? Why do I always get the short end of the stick? _'Because your basically a big sister to three little kids and you have to be responsible.'_ my 'good' side replies. I hiss under my breath, starting to feel my injuries.

Even after Felix heals them up, I still feel disoriented, dizzy, and sick to my stomach. Plus I'm seeing double, which is just great. "Why'd you have to shake my so hard, Ralph?" I groan, trying to rise to my feet, but with the way the ground is shifting, I can't keep my balance, even on all fours and half collapse again.

"I didn't, though." he sounds concerned and perplexed.

"Whoops." mutters Gold, but the slight, natural, deepening and growl in his voice is gone, so he must be human again. No wait, hang on. . . it is there. I turn my head slightly, another wave of dizziness making the ground jump underneath me.

"What?" I ask.

"Well, I don't really know, but I might have you gotten you with my dewclaws. Sorry." I groan. Of course!

"I have this special venom in my dewclaws, the thumb-like part of a cats paw. It's exact properties change as my emotions change. I guess, driven by instinct as I was, it disabled my 'opponent'." he explains. I hear something hit something else, and a sharp squeak.

"Hey!" Gold snaps. I ignore them. Just earlier today, I had leapt off of Diet Cola Mountain and glided right into the end of the Random Roster Race. Now, I had gotten into a serious scrap with my bro' and am now unable to do _anything_. These thoughts came to me more distantly, as I curled up slightly, searching for comfort. Something nudged me, and I hissed a little.

Everything was blurry, instead of seeing double, and Felix was crouched over me, feeling my head. "I think that's enough for one day, miss. Let's get you back to the castle." I can't really answer other than a squeak of surprise as Ralph scoops me up into his large arms. Vanellope has glitched onto his shoulder, I think, but between the dizziness, blurriness, and feeling like I'm gonna throw up, I can't really focus on anything.

I'm pretty sure we've gotten close to the castle when my sick stomach gets worse. "Ralph, c-can we t-take a br-break? I f-feel l-like I'm gonna throw up." Ralph pauses, a look flicking across his face, but I can't tell what.

"Sure, kiddo." he takes a seat on a jawbreaker on the side of the path. I raise my head, rather feebly though, to try and see where we are, but I can't tell. I drop my head back down, hissing a little in pain from the throbbing headache that suddenly appears. Why me?

* * *

Sun (POV)

When we had gotten Crescent tucked into bed, with Felix watching over her - he refused to leave her alone, like a doting parent - and Tamora had to go take care of something in her game, leaving me, Ralph, Vanillope and Cola to figure out something fun to do. Over the last week, we had stuck to Sugar Rush, partly because it was big enough to satisfy Crescent's need to explore, and partially because Cola couldn't leave the game.

We were mostly just puttering around the throne room, Cola pestering Ralph and Vanellope with questions. I'd wandered over onto a balcony, being careful not to look down. I began to think about the little friend group me and Sis had gotten ourselves caught up in. With a small jolt, I realized that it was like a family.

Tamora was like the tough-guy mom, Felix the kind and ever worried doting dad, Ralph was like an older brother or uncle, Crescent fit into the second-oldest sibling place, Vanillope and Cola were like the older twin brother and sister pair, and I was the youngest brother. Even though Felix and Tamora seemed to have the mom/dad rolls swapped, we were becoming a family none-the-less.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when a big hand nudges me. I jump a little, turning to see Ralph, with Vanillope and Cola perched on his shoulders, standing on the balcony next to me.

"Hows the weather on the mountain, explorers Cola and Vanillope?" I joke.

"Stormy with a chance of glitching." replies Cola, grimacing as a glitch traveled unbidden through his form. "I _still_ don't get how you can do this all the time, sis! It feels so weird!" he exclaims, waving his arms around for emphasis, nearly whacking Ralph in the face. I roll my eyes, turning back to the view. Something suddenly hits me on the back. I stumble forward and end up hitting the bars with my chest, getting a good, long look on the ground.

I freeze, my eyes widening, mouth agape, fur raised along my neck, claws digging deep into the railing. The ground seems to stretch farther and farther away from me. I cannot move, cannot think, can't do anything. I close my eyes tightly. It feels like my fear is a giant hand squeezing the air from my lungs. Then, I'm suddenly drenched! My eyes snap open as I stumble back, only to slip.

I'm held up by a big hand; I turn to see Ralph, Vanillope and Cola, wearing near-identical looks of concern. We're in a bathroom; I'm in a tub, with the shower-head going on me. I turn it off, resisting the urge to shake out my fur. Vanillope tosses a towel on me. With a grunt, I start drying off my fur.

"What happened?" I look up.

"Whaddya mean?" I reply, scrubbing my arms with the towel.

"Well, the instant you looked over the edge, you froze. You didn't respond or anything. Ralph even shook you a little! What happened? Did you see a ghost?" I send a Vanillope a small glare.

"No, I did't see a ghost."

"Then what did happen, Sir Pelt-icis?" asks Ralph jokingly.

"I dunno, General Egg-breath." I return sharply. Vanillope bursts out laughing.

"I gotta remember that one!"

"Oh, sure, laugh it up President Fart-feathers!" exclaims Ralph, trying to grab the glitching, teleporting girl. While they acted like lunatics in the bathroom, I slipped out. I padded for the exit, only to be stopped by Cola.

"Are you afraid of heights?" he asks. I blink. Was it that obvious? Well, duh, it must be. I nod slowly.

"Don't tell anyone else. I don't wanna be pranked on something like this." Cola nods seriously. After a moment, I scoop him up so he's perched on my back. With a laughs and jokes, we leave the castle and start looking for something to do.

* * *

**Well, I covered some fear-factor stuff. At this point, I'm just doing little fluffy writings, partially because it's cute, and partially because I'm not entirely sure how to end this fic. If you have any ideas for conflict of whatever, just let me know. Thanks, and please review.**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon ad Sun~**


	12. Prank War, Sky Journals and Code Vault

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well this next one should be fun. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. And will enjoy this one, too.**

* * *

**Chapter 12:** Prank War, Sky Journals and Code Vault

* * *

It's weird how something so innocent turned so bad so soon. It was such when Cola and Sun arrived at the racetrack to watch the Random Roster Race. Gloyd had sauntered up, saying he needed help opening his bottle of soda. When Cola offered to help, he ended up getting sprayed in the face with coke-cola. After staring, dumbfounded, at the stains on his clothes, he let out a scared yell, stumbling back, swatting at his clothes as if they were full of bugs.

Sun, by this time, had turned on a laughing-his-hat-off-Gloyd with a half playful and half menacing growl(which was all the more bizarre coming from a human), tackling him to the ground. The rolled right into Taffyta, knocking her into a chocolate mud puddle. She stared at them in shock and disbelief, before tackling Sun. She threw in some punches and kicks, but Sun, having fought larger kids than her, landed a blow right where it hurt.

Acting on impulse, he punched her in the neck before pulling up his legs and kicking her - with both feet - hard in the gut, sending her flying right into Candlehead. Rancis took action. Rancis tackled Sun to the ground as he got up, pinning him down while Candlehead helped Taffyta. Gloyd attacked Rancis, and Sun joined him.

Creumbelina ran over and tried to pull Sun away from the fight. Key word: '_tried_'. When Sun turned to shake her off, Swizzle threw a large piece of candy corn at the fight. It nailed Sun right in the chest, forcing the breath out of him. While he struggled to regain breath, Creumbelina completely lost her cool and punched Swizzle in the face.

Minty suddenly decided to involve herself in the fray and tackled Creumbelina, turning in it into a cat fight that Sun joined, trying to pull Minty off. Swizzle joined in, trying to stop Minty, but Sun took it the wrong way and socked him in the eye. Snowanna and Jubileena tried to separate Minty from the others, but got dragged in.

In the end, the race track was a war zone of assorted candies strewn everywhere, everyone messy, dirty, and beaten up, karts coated in stuff like whipped cream and pie filling, besides at least half of them having broken off pieces, if not torn completely apart.

Cola was still trying to get the coke off his clothes, and assorted racers were still fighting. Whether they were throwing stuff at eachother or throwing punches, everyone was battling;

_Crazy Prank-War Style_. Which is what Ralph and Calhoun found when they decided to see the race. After staring for a moment, Calhoun simply said,

"This place just got interesting." before drawing her gun and shooting into the sky. The racers stopped and turned, staring at her.

"Okay, what's going on? This place is a war zone." she declared, striding into the center of it. Everyone began talking at once, and before Calhoun could fire another shot for attention, something zoomed into the air.

It looked like a firework rocket, orange and white, glitching and trailing dark blue pixels. It exploded with a bang that made everyone -except Calhoun- jump, and bits of orange and white floated to the ground. When all the bits touched down, they moved, as if being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner, towards the edge of the track; right towards Cola.

The bits pulled together in a clump at is feet, glitched once more in time with him, before forming a large piece of candy corn. He stared down at it, gingerly picking it up. Sun ran over to him, speaking in a hushed voice. Turning to the others, he raised his voice and called,

"We're going to get Felix and her president-ness." with that, he turned into a tiger in a golden glow, grabbed Cola's jacket hood in his mouth and ran off towards the castle. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, the tiger dropped the dangling prince on the ground gently, rubbing at his jaw.

"Never doing that again." he mumbled.

"I'm not that heavy!" exclaimed Cola shakily. Gold shook his head.

"No, but we're still almost the same size, and I only gain a few inches as a feline. My big question is, what the heck was that rocket thing?" Cola shook his head, suppressed fear in his eyes.

"I don't know!" he cried out, hugging his knees to his chest. "I've never seen or heard of anything like it! I'd need to check the codes, but I don't think that that is normal."

"_Pffft_, since when is teleport-glitching normal?" Gold asked rhetorically, trying and failing to frame it with sarcasm. "Did it hurt that time? I saw you glitch that candy corn into a rocket." added the tiger, sympathy and curiosity in his voice. Cola shook his head slowly.

"Not really. It felt tingly, and I felt light, as if I were floating or something. But when the rocket exploded. . ." he trailed off, shivering. Gold nodded, frowning.

"Well, I think we can wait on telling anyone that. And we'd better go get Felix and Vanillope. Come on!" he allowed the prince to climb on his back before taking off full speed towards the castle.

* * *

_Meanwhile, with Felix and Moon. . . ._

Felix watched Moon like a pixelated hawk, but she wasn't getting better. To Felix, at least. In reality, the lioness had recovered quite a bit. She didn't feel like she was gonna puke, and nothing was blurry. But her dizziness and the fact that she couldn't stand on her own kept her in bed. She had finally decided that she was tired of doing nothing, changed back to human, and did something quite odd, in Felix's opinion.

She reached under cloak, muttering under her breath, before pulling out a strange book. It was dark blue on top, fading into a lighter blue, with stars in the former and clouds in the latter. She opened it up, flipped to a certain page, and started writing with the end of a silver feather that appeared in her hand. Muttering to herself, she scribbled in the book.

Finally stopping, she tossed the feather in the air. It promptly disintegrated in a burst of tangible silvery dust. A bit landed on Felix, and he sneezed. Moon looked at him, fear lacing her features as she snapped the book closed. She calmed after a moment, leaving Felix feeling confused.

"What was that now?" he asks, brushing at some silver dust that clung to him. She glanced from the book to him. She held her hands in front of her, tilting them back and forth like scales. She finally shrugged, holding up the book so he could see the cover. It had a gold, stylized sun on the lighter blue part, and a silver, stylized crescent moon on the lower part.

"This is the 'Sky Journals'. It's basically like a diary me and Sun share. It holds our adventures, feelings, stories we've heard or made up, jokes; pretty much anything we think to write in here." she shuffled her feet, propping herself up a little more on the pillows. Felix hopped up and helped her into a more comfortable position.

Hissing under her breath, she let her head fall back on the marshmallow pillow, letting the hand holding the book hang off the bed.

"Whats the matter?" asked Felix. Moon sighed, looking over at the handyman.

"I'm not used to having help; simple as that. I'm used to being more," she gestured vaguely, "self-sufficient, I s'pose. And now everything is different. It's hard to transition like this, even if it's a good transition. Er, change." she sighed again, letting her head fall back against the pillow.

"Before coming here, when we first showed up in '_Enchanted Forest Questers_', life was good. But after they found out. . . ." she trailed off, staring up at the bottom of the top bunk.

"I was shunned. Everyone who was nice to me and accepted me tossed me out or were forced to ignore me. People who wanted to help me couldn't, and the majority of the population tried to hunt me down like some sort of. . . monster." she whispered the last bit, tears beginning to fill her eyes. She wiped them away quickly before they could spill down her cheeks

Ignoring Felix's touch on her arm, she held up the Sky journals to stare at it. Opening it up again, she took the silver feather - which appeared in her hand - and began writing.

She didn't look up for several more minutes, but when she did, she frowned at Felix. She scribbled a little more in the book, frowned at Felix again, then the book. With a snarl, she let the journal fall open across her lap and dropped her head down on the pillow. Felix padded over quietly. She opened her eyes tiredly, before twisting the journal around with a shrug.

The two visible pages Felix was looking at were covered in pictures arranged comic-book style, but it took him a moment to realize that they had been drawn, but the detailing was great. He could see the 7Up swimming hole that they had gone to earlier that day. But instead of him and the others, it was cats.

A large, brown-eyed tiger with dis-proportionally big front paws.

Two small, black cubs, probably panthers, with small bits of candy on their heads and ears, one with bits of candy on their tail as well, their chocolate-brown eyes wide with laughter.

A pale lioness with a midnight-black bow and sheath of arrows strapped to her side.

A small lynx sitting next to her, a yellow belt around his middle with a golden hammer hanging from it, his baby blue eyes staring up at the lioness, mouth set in a goofy grin.

A tiger that looked just like Gold, swimming around in the deeper water, and a smaller, slightly darker lioness that looked like Crescent sat crouched near the pool, flinching away from the splashing as the other lioness and lynx dabbed their paws in the water.

"What is this?" Felix finally asked, unable to fully comprehend what he was seeing. Moon opened her eyes and looked up at him before pointing at the picture.

"That's us, earlier today at that swimming hole. You have short-term memory loss or something?" she poked the handyman in the chest teasingly.

"But, we're not cats." he pointed to the lynx. Frowning, she looked over the pictures. Shrugging, she sniffed at the air.

"I dunno, I guess that's just how I did it. Can you tell me what day it is?" she had her silver feather-pen posed over the page.

"Uh, sure, it's the 4th of December." replied Felix. After scribbling it down, she paused, looking at the date with a frown. Before she could say anything, the door was thrown open. Gold and Cola were there, the former panting and the latter glitching.

"Royal Raceway *pant pant* complete war *pant* zone. Felix-"

"Ca-AAAAh-an you find Vanellope and get down th-th-there?" interrupted Cola, glitches garbling his words. Felix nodded, running out the door. He called over his shoulder,

"Keep an eye on Moon!" before he was gone. Moon groaned under her breath, closing the Sky journals as the feather dispersed into silver dust.

"What is that?" asked Cola.

"This is the Sky journals. It's where we record our thoughts, feelings, stories we've made up and heard - anything, really." replied Gold, changing back to his 'human' form. The stylized sun on the book glowed brightly, before dimming back to it's original state. Moon and Sun looked at eachother with troubled eyes. They'd never had the book out when they transformed before.

"May I see it?" after hesitating a moment, Moon sat up and handed him the book, treating it as if it were made of glass. But it didn't work out. Cola's fingers slipped right through the book, and it hit the ground.

When his fingers had slid through, both Sun and Moon's forms had, in a sense, glitched into gold and silver static before reverting back. Sun trembled and shivered, hugging his arms to his chest as his body was wracked with tremors. Moon was wheezing for air, shuddering and gasping. Her form shimmered with silver as she changed back to her lioness form.

Sun carefully picked up the Sky journal, and his shivering and tremors ceased. Quickly handing it over to Crescent, the same happened. All three looked at eachother with concern and fear and confusion. Cautiously, Cola placed a finger on the journal. It didn't go through, which made what happened all the more confusing.

"Maybe it was a glitch." said Cola hopefully, trying to lighten the mood. Sun nodded immediately, easily taking the explanation without protest. Crescent looked doubtful, but decided to roll with it. For now. The two boys turned the conversation into what happened at the Royal Raceway, how it ended up a war zone, and the rocket thing.

"Maybe that's just your special ability." suggested Crescent, standing steadily on her hind legs. Cola shook his head.

"I felt. . . weird, when the rocket did those things, and when it exploded, it hurt. As in, really, really hurt, twice, maybe three times as bad as when I was first glitching." he replied, brows furrowed.

"I'd have to take a look at the code, but I don't want to go alone. Let's go!" he ran out of the room, speed-glitching farther ahead. He lead them to the throne room, behind the curtain and down the hall to the Code Vault door. Sun tilted his head.

"I can remember this 'Universal' game cheat code. So you think that would work here?" Cola frowned, nodding.

"Each game is supposed to have it's own code lock, but I suppose the 'Universal' cheat code would be like a skeleton key and work anywhere. Do _not_, _not_, under any circumstances, tell anyone where this is. The code is the lifeblood of the game - wait." he frowned in thought.

"The code dictates the landscape of the game, a characters personalities, appearance, and well-being in the game. It can be tampered with more easily than you would think, either to fix something or damage it." finally satisfied that he had explained properly, Cola turned and punched in the code. Sun and Crescent's eyes widened in awe at the sight of it.

The interconnected tangle of code boxes and wires was absolutely huge, and nearly beyond comprehension. It took all of this to sustain the game and it's characters. One misstep, one code out of alignment, a virus, ANYTHING, could drag something huge and significant down to the ground, and take so much work to build back up again.

"This is gonna take awhile." mutters Sun, his first coherent thought after seeing. . . . all _that_.

* * *

**Well, that was fun. My friend, '**hrhowling**', gave me the idea for the rocket thing Cola did, as well as the prank war stuff. You should definitely check out the stories she's written, they are absolutely brilliant. Please review!**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon and Sun~**


	13. Codes and Cybug Horrors

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Oh my, what's happening with the codes and the war zone? It's also kinda songfic-ish. You'll see what I mean soon. **

**I also forgot to mention, if anyone wants to make any sort of fan art of scenes in here, that's just fine, but no cussing or 'adult' themes, but blood, gore and whatnot is fine. Please PM the link or review it to me when you finish it up. Thanks!**

**_ONWARD!?_**

* * *

Warning, mild gore and blood

* * *

**Chapter 13:** Codes and Cybug Horrors

* * *

The prince lead the former boy Player through the expanse of code, almost swimming as the latter tried to match his motions. Crescent hung back near the entrance, the licorice ropes in hand, ears pricked, sniffing the air - it smelled vaguely like everything she had ever scented in Sugar Rush and more, coated heavily with a strong electricity scent and as if from behind a wall.

Cola was having no luck finding his code box. He had found Vanellope's, but his, which should have been next to hers, was no where to be seen. They had finally decided to go back and reevaluate the plan at the entrance. Crescent was humming something under her breath, giving the whole situation an odd feeling of hopelessness and hope at the same time.

Suddenly perking up with a squeaky meow, she grabbed Cola and sniffed him, deep, breathy inhales as she did her best to capture his scent. He had yelped, but remained still in her grasp. She finally set him down, sniffed the air deeply and turned, not towards the tangled web of codes, but outside of it. A single code box, sputtering dark blue sparks at both ends in time to Cola's glitch of surprise.

The two boys grinned up at the lioness before hopping back out into the void. When they reached it, Cola knew that things were not good. Only six wires, three on the top and three on the bottom, were what held up and supported his code box. He tapped it twice, and it opened up to reveal it's contents. Sun watched with utter satisfaction and curiosity, taking in everything he saw.

Cola spotted some things that hadn't been in his code before. Like a copy of Vanellope's code, giving him clothes and hairstyle similar to hers, as well as a deactivated outfit code that had once been his original royal clothes. But there was something else. It was labeled '**King Turbo**'. Cola's blood turned to ice. He gently tapped at the code bit, accidentally activating it without noticing.

It displayed a mix of codes that had been from what appeared to be a disused character model, 'King Candy', and Turbo. The name brought on terrible memories for the young prince, things that he didn't want to delve into. Instead, he checked out the rest of his code, making sure what was working was working fine and that nothing else was amiss.

After a little more tinkering and some help from Sun, they carefully moved his code box up next to Vanellope's, where more wires connected until it had the usual 20 wires, although only three on the top and three on the bottom looked stable. Giving the ropes two tugs, Crescent pulled them back in to the door. A song was drifting about the air, and Crescent was found singing just inside the door as she pulled them in.

_You feel like a candle in a hurricane_  
_Just like a picture with a broken frame_  
_Alone and helpless_  
_Like you've lost your fight_  
_But you'll be alright, you'll be alright_

_'Cause when push comes to shove_  
_You taste what you're made of_  
_You might bend, 'til you break_  
_'Cause it's all you can ta-ake_

_On, your, knees, you, look, up_

_Decide you've had enough_  
_You get mad, you get strong_  
_Wipe your hands, shake it off_  
_Then you stand,_  
_Then you stand_

_Life's like a book_  
_With the end ripped right out_  
_The edge of a canyon_  
_With only one way down_  
_Take what you're given before it's gone_  
_And start holding on, keep holding on_

_'Cause when push comes to shove_  
_You taste what you're made of_  
_You might bend 'til you break_  
_'Cause it's all you can take_

_On, your, knees, you look up_

_Decide you've had enough_  
_You get mad, you get strong_  
_Wipe your hands, shake it off_  
_Then you stand,_  
_Yeah, then you stand_

_Every time you get up_  
_And get back in the race_  
_One more small piece of you_  
_Starts to fall into place_  
_Oh_

_Yeah, then you stand,_  
_Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah!_  
_Woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo_

_Then you stand, yeah, yeah_

Sun stared at is sister, disbelieving shock written across his face as he stared at her. Crescent looked out into the void, face soft and holding a mysterious, hopeful look. Cola nudged her and the spell was broken. She looks down at them, flicking her tail.

"Did you figure out the problem?" she asks looking down at the two boys. Cola nods seriously, and Sun snaps out of is shocked thoughts. He eyes his older sister with suspicion. She hadn't sung anything for a long time, and that had been one of her, 'it looks bleak, but it should be better soon of we keep fighting', songs. And she had last sung it so long ago. . .

They left the Code Vault, untying the licorice ropes from their waists. They left the throne room when Crescent got an idea. She scooped the two boys on her back, made sure their legs were under her wings and took off. Cola was in front, gripping her shoulders tightly, while Sun held on around his middle, his cape fluttering out behind them.

Opening up her wings now and then, gliding swiftly towards their destination. Diet Cola Mountain. When she reached it, she raced around to the side before beginning to climb. It was a almost completely vertical ascent, both boys clinging on for dear life as she climbed. Her claws dug deep into shallow niches in the wall, deepening claw-marks that were already there.

When she made it to the top, she raced across to one side. "Um, Sis, what are you doing?!" asked Sun, beginning to panic.

"Uh, yeah, what's the point of being up here?" asked Cola, remembrance of when King Candybug - with him trapped inside - rising to the surface. She didn't explain, only raced towards the edge, going faster and faster; to fast to stop!

"Hold on tight!" was all she said; and hold on tight they did. She hurled herself off the edge, free-falling for a few seconds before spreading her wings and flying up and up, so fast that she left Sun's stomach somewhere below them. Cola laughed in excitement, the scary part over, as they swooped on level with the cotton candy clouds.

They were flying over the Sweetville, the little town that the candy citizens and racers occupied when the arcade closed. It lead to the rainbow bridge and to the outlet that would bring them to Game Central Station. Crescent made a beeline for it, angling downwards.

"I don't think you should do this! I'm a glitch!" shouted Cola.

"Don't worry, we fixed it! You can leave the game now!" replied Sun, peeking his eyes open for a moment before snapping them shut again. Cola shouted, expecting pain as they approached the outlet; but nothing happened. The barrier didn't stop them, and they raced down the cord, Crescent flapping her wings to ensure that they wouldn't touch the walls.

When they reached the outside, however, they were stopped by the Surge Protector(SP). Or at least, the SP tried to. Cola had no experience with him, as well as his two friends, and they ignored him. Crescent banked and turned towards Hero's Duty, diving in and hopping into one of the high-tech trains before it took off. She unceremoniously dumped her two passengers onto one of the seats before taking one herself.

When they arrived, she herded the two in front of her as she went, before pausing. Gunshots and horrible, mechanical screeches filled the air. The three looked at eachother, but before Crescent could drag them back to the train, a huge, monstrous creature loomed up before them. It was colored a glowing green and gray-black, a giant insectoid made of metal and coded to be a killer.

A Cybug. Before they could react, another gunshot rang out. A small flash of sparks was thrown up on the bug-things shell, and it turned with a screech and whir of it's wings. Another shot rang out, and the metal bug exploded into scrap metal and green goop. Grabbing her little brothers as she backed towards the entrance, a shout distracted her.

More Cybugs were starting to converge on the exit, and men in heavy, black battle armor and guns were trying to stop them. Shoving her younger brothers towards the exit, she charged the next Cybug, roaring in an attempt to keep it distracted.

Her plan worked all to well. The Cybug charged her, and the lion girls swift punches, kicks, and scratches doing nothing to faze it. Finally, in pure desperation, she punched it as hard as she could in the eye. Two distinctive _CRACK!_ sounds made themselves known, as her right hand broke somewhere and it's eye cracked. A large man in full battle armor suddenly shoved her aside, shooting wildly at the bug, missing it every time.

His nameplate read 'Markoski', and after staring at him for a moment, Crescent turned at the scared yell; Sun had just been knocked against a wall, out for the count, and Cola was trying to drag him to safety. A Cybug landed close to them, driving the poor prince into a corner as he began to shout for help, fear and terror clear in his voice. Something snapped inside the young lioness.

_No one_ touches her family. She would not let them die. Shoving Markoski aside and grabbing his gun, she raced over and whacked the Cybug hard with it. It whirled around to face her, and she smacked it as hard as she could across the face. It screeched mechanically, and a pained yell behind it drew her attention. Cola gingerly touched his stomach from where he lay, before crawling over to Sun.

Smacking the Cybug hard in the face, she scuttled underneath it as it tried to hit her with it's legs. She was now trapped in this small corner, a weapon that she didn't know how to properly use held tightly in her paws, her two youngest family members hurt behind her.

"I will not let you have them." she snarled, her voice, so deep and gravelly, was barely recognizable. She swung the gun and smacked the bug hard, ducking as it swiped at her and smacking at it again, and she began to sing. Her voice was hard as steel and just as difficult to break, singing the truth as she battled and more Cybugs began to appear.

_"I will stand tall at my post,_

_If not for honor then what is right!_

_I will never back down,_

_I'll stand my ground,_

_Till I lay dead on the floor!"_ she smacked the Cybug away before another one lunged and nearly took her head off. She ducked, hitting it hard in the stomach before whacking it's eyes, destroying them.

_"Evermore, I shall fight,_

_with all of my might,_

_protecting those around me,_

_my friends and family!" _ignoring the number of bugs in front of her, she smacked them away as hard as she could, gasping in exertion as the fight stretched out. She couldn't hold them off much longer.

_"I've had my taste and share,_

_of what they call ad-ven-ture!_

_All I want now is peace,"_ Crescent was nearly overwhelmed with Cybugs, unable to keep up. One almost snagged her in its mouth, while another jabbed at her with one of its many insectoid legs, leaving a large, deep puncture wound in her right shoulder. She gasped, in pain, but kept fighting and kept singing.

_"Whether in bed, or merely lying,_

_on the hard cold floor._

_I'll stand my ground,_

_I'll never stopping defending,_

_Until I lie dead on the ravaged battle field!"_ she roared in pain and fury as she went ballistic on a Cybug that had nearly gotten her little brothers. She beat it back, but her strength was fading quickly, her rush of adrenaline running low. As she went on to club another one, she accidentally pulled the trigger, hitting the bug between the eyes.

It exploded into gray-black metal and glowing green goo. A grimace mixed with a ghost of a smile on her face, the lioness stepped back and began firing, shooting left and right into the swarm, a new song rising above the clicking of mandibles and the whir of wings and the mechanical screeches.

_"Louder than the Roaring Wind,_

_Faster than the Lightning Flashes,_

_Stronger than the Pounding Rain,_

_I am the Untamed Storm!"_ she screamed wordlessly as a Cybug came at her from above, an inhuman sound that shouldn't have existed. She leapt back, firing wildly as she tried to force back the tide of metal insectoids.

_"I was sent to defend!_

_I will never back down!_

_I will never give in!_

_I will keep on fighting until the enemy is forced to the ground!"_ she was suddenly whacked hard across her chest, sending her flying into the wall behind her. She hit her head and slumped to the floor, out of the fight. The Cybug swarm converged on them slowly, as if knowing they had won, savoring their victory. Cola stared on with wide, terrified eyes, thoughts looping in his head.

_'Why isn't anyone helping us? I don't want to be eaten again! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!?'_ repeated over and over, looking over at his fallen family. His eyes suddenly locked onto the gun in Crescents paw. His mind sped up, and he lunged for it without thinking. Time seemed to slow.

His fingers wrapped around the gun, trying to lift something bigger than he was and far more heavy.

He finally lifted it, adrenaline racing through his veins, pulling the trigger and firing wildly, yet with deadly accuracy, into the swarm.

Cybug after Cybug fell, until only a few remained farther off. They seemed to be smarter than the others, or something else caught their attention, for they scuttled off before he could fire again.

Cola let his aching arms drop. His heart was racing, the adrenaline that had kept him alive and fighting had faded away. Looking over at his companions, he crawled over to them. Crescent had landed only a few feet from Sun, and both had yet to wake up. Sun seemed okay, but Crescent - Cola's breath caught and he tried not to gag.

Blood was pouring from her shoulder, the wound deep and wide. He pulled off his sweater, revealing the pale gray undershirt, and wrapped it over the wound best he could. Before he could turn to check for more of those horrible monsters, Crescent slowly opened her eyes. She gently pulled Cola into a hug. The little guy had been trying to convince himself that he was trapped in a awful nightmare, and with this new turn of events, he completely lost it.

He began to wail in fear, coherency pushed out of his head as he was forced to accept reality. "Th-th-they were g-g-gonna k-k-kill us. . . I almost _d-d-died!_ I was almost _d-d-dead!?_" he wailed, shivering and burying his face in Crescent's soft fur, his hot tears soaking her chest. She gently rocked him, snuffling his hair and rubbing his back.

"Sh, sh, it's okay. We're okay. I won't let anything hurt you. I'm an Untamed Storm, remember?" she comforted softly. He looked up at her, tears streaming from his terror-filled eyes. Crescent carefully reached over and pulled Sun into her embrace as well, holding them both close as unknown things approached them.

She snarled, holding then to her, wings spreading out to shield them from view. She was weak, however, and couldn't stand to fight properly. She held her little brothers close, protecting them from whatever may come as they closed in. The gun was too far to reach. They were defenseless to whatever may come at them now.

* * *

**Wow. This just. . .ran away from me, like one of those 'rare' times where the story writes itself for awhile. Go ahead and vote on what will happen or what ever may be coming after them. Please review!**

**-~Keep Calm and Race On - Vanellope and Cola~**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon and Sun~**


	14. Good Nightmare, Bad Reality

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Okay, well . . . just read it. I dunno what to say except, Whoohoo! Extra long chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 14:** Good Nightmare, Bad Reality

* * *

Sgt. Tamora Calhoun was done for the night. After dealing with a group of nine-year-olds and resolving a small-scale war(an overly _cute_ one at that), and helping Felix and Wreck-it find all the kart pieces and clean up the track, she was ready to hit the sack before the arcade opened. But when she walked into Hero's Duty, it was pretty much absolute chaos. Cybugs were swarming towards the exit, and her men were scattered. It took nearly an hour before they managed to fight them off, and in 'quieter' moments, she could have sworn she heard singing.

But when they did shoot them all, she had another problem to deal with.

A wordless wail of terror filled the base suddenly, pulling everyones' attention towards the exit.

"Th-th-they were g-g-gonna k-k-kill us. . . I almost _d-d-died!_ I was almost _d-d-dead!?_" a fear-filled voice wailed again.

"Sh, sh, it's okay. We're okay. I won't let anything hurt you. I'm an Untamed Storm, remember?" a feminine voice comforted softly.

Crescent, Sun and Cola were huddled in the far corner near the exit, and at least one of them was injured, judging by the red stains here and there. They were surrounded, in a large, thick semi-circle, by the remains of Cybugs, and a standard K-48 shotgun was not to far from them. It didn't take a detective to figure out what happened. When Sarge tried to get close, however, Crescent immediately got aggressive, baring her teeth and pulling Cola and Sun close to her, hiding them under her wings.

"Crescent, it's okay. It's me, Sarge?" Sargent Calhoun tried, but Crescent snarled.

"S-s-sgt.?" called a small, frightened voice. Cola peeked out from behind Crescent's wing, eye huge, tears spilling down his cheeks. He didn't have his hoodie on, and she quickly saw where it was. Soaked in blood, wrapped around Crescents shoulder. Cola dashed towards her, avoiding the metal and green gunk. She stepped forward to meet him, crouching down a bit.

He leapt into her arms, sobbing. "Are they g-g-gone? I d-don't want it t-to h-h-happen again!?" he wailed, hugging her around the middle, his face wet with tears. She held him gently.

"It's okay, little guy. The Cybugs are gone." she murmurs to him, softer than she'd ever really done before.

"I d-don't want it to h-h-happen again! I wanna go home! **_I'm scared!?_**" he wailed again, curling into a small ball in her arms.

"Don't want what to happen again?" asked Calhoun gently.

"I d-d-don't wanna be eaten again! It h-h-hurts so bad! I sh-shot th-them away, b-b-but I was scared! I d-d-didn't wanna be _eaten!?_" _'Eaten? Again? I'm gonna need to investigate some more here.'_ thought Sarge, looking down at the shivering, sobbing mess in her arms.

"You shot the Cybugs away? With that?" she asks, pointing over to the gun. Cola looks up long enough to see it, nodding before hiding his face again.

"Well, that was pretty brave of you. Your stronger than you look." Cola looked up at her slowly, trying to stifle his sobs.

"R-really?" he squeaked out, voice strained. A short while later, after a lot of convincing, Crescent was being patched up, Sun and Cola were huddling together like lost kittens, and Sarge was pacing.

"So, let me get this straight. You three come barging in here and get attacked by the bugs. Sun gets knocked out, you start singing," she jabbed a finger at Crescent,

"and then, after using the gun as a sledgehammer for awhile, you start actually firing it, get knocked out, and Cola starts firing it instead?" Cola nodded slowly, eyes not yet dry from the whole ordeal.

"C-can we g-go home n-now? I want Grandpa and V-vanellope-" Cola begins meekly.

"H-hang on, 'Grandpa'?" interrupts Sun. Cola blinks, fiddling around with his now-clean hoodie strings.

"I dunno, it just k-kinda . . . f-feels right?" he says slowly, looking up with scared, unsure eyes. Crescent, having had her shoulder wrapped up tightly and her hand put in a splint, walked over, unsteady on her hind legs.

"Sarge, can you help us get to Sugar Rush? I know it's late, but I can't take care of these two alone right now. . ." the lioness staggered, and would have fallen if Sarge hadn't held her up.

"Easy there, Rookie! Come on, lets get you three home."

* * *

_Two train rides and several minutes of walking later. . . _

* * *

Cola collapsed on his sponge cake bed. He had his own room, even though he normally slept with Vanellope. He was still scared of what happened, and the memories they had brought on him. He could still feel it. The metal jaws, the pain before that, the knife, that evil, gray-faced racer. . . . . . . . . . . . . he slipped into sleep, a memory of a dream coming to him shortly afterwards.

_/\/\/\/\_

_King Turbo was struggling to catch up to Vanellope, and had just gotten outside the tunnel when a huge,_ thing_, dropped down out of the sky, opening it's metal jaws wide and grabbing them up, chewing, _crushing_ them and the kart into bits. It had hurt so bad, even with his limited sense of feel. Everything had become completely dark. No sounds, no nothing. Then, there had been light again, and pain, so much pain._

_His chest, _their_ chest, being forced forward, arms elongated beyond their normal length, shoulders widening and growing thicker. Everything became dark again, before his, their, vision cleared up. _

_Power. Turbo felt invincible, but the poor prince was terrified, and yet, he could feel the power the Cybug could offer them. But he didn't want it, he was fighting against it, and the thoughts - if you could call them thoughts - of _kill, destroy, repeat, kill, destroy, repeat_. He fought against it with all his might, urging the Wrecker on, begging him in his mind to just kill him and be done with it. He was scared, very scared._

_He winced - internally - as King Turbo-bug attacked the Wrecker again, knocking him hard against the wall the Mentos had formed. When Ralph tossed him, them, Turbo, against the wall, Turbo curled into a ball, rolling forward towards Ralph before pouncing, grabbing him up and flying high above the mountain. He, they, Turbo held Ralph's head, pointing it towards the Rainbow bridge. It was swarming with Cybugs, converging on the exit - - - and Vanellope._

_An invisible barrier kept her from leaving, because she was a glitch. "Let's watch her die together, shall we?" these words turned the young Prince's blood to ice, and he suddenly felt something, as if another person was there. He could hear something, just the barest whisper, hardly noticeable. But now, in this back-flash of a dream, the words were clear as crystal._

"Vanellope?! No no no NO! Please, no! She's alive, but how . . . you already stole my grandson, my kingdom, my identity! No, please! Oh, please no!?"_ the voice was familiar, yet different, and he suddenly remembered. His Grandfather, but how? What was going on here?!_

_"It's Game Over for both of you." said King Turbo-bug, and Ralph looked back at him, expression hard and resolute._

_"No, just for me!" he pushed as hard as he could against the racer-turned-Cybug, Cola fighting to loosen King Turbo-bugs grip, as well as the presence he had earlier felt, which he believed and hoped was his Grandpa. The Wrecker broke free, hurtling towards the Mountain. Cola and his Grandpa somehow restrained King Turbo-bug from flying after, so when the Wrecker burst the bottle cap of Mentos, the Bug-thing had the good sense to fly away from it._

_Cola could just recall what Ralph had said as he hurtled towards the mountain._

_"I'm Bad, and that's Good. I will never be Good, and that's not Bad. There's _no one_ I'd rather be, than _Me_." Then, the Mountain exploded, the Cybugs flew towards it, and with Cola and what he thought was his Grandpa urging on the Cybug part of their entangled, mixed up codes, they forced Turbo into the stream. Cola regenerated he-didn't-know-when, and he had forgotten about what he thought was his Grandfather's presence. _

_Until now. _

_The dream changed, and he found himself in a dark void. His voice echoed in the space, and an evil laugh answered. Out of the darkness arose King Candybug, and, riding on his back, was Turbo, in all his racing glory._

_"T-turbo?!" he squeaked, standing frozen in place, eyes wide with fear._

_"Hello, Cola. Wanna race?" he sneered, just as the Cy-king lunged, and Cola glitched away, barely avoiding what would have been a fatal hit. He turned and ran, speed glitching now and then to try and stay ahead, but it was no use. They caught up to him, and when Cola turned to see the oncoming attack, he found himself suddenly hitting a wall. He was sitting against it, his arms chained over his head._

_"Well, I've taken care of that tittering old King, it's time to deal with you now." chuckled Turbo, before the Cy-king lunged, and Cola screamed, thrashing. Then, somehow, the Cy-King was thrown back._

_"I will not let you touch him." someone growled out, his body hiding the young Prince from view. He was swathed in shadows, but he seemed familiar, in appearance, in voice, to Cola. His voice was deep and a little rough, and the cold tone he used made Cola feel obligated to do as he said._

_"Oh, _you're_ not letting _me_? Let's see what good it does you!?" shouted Turbo, urging the Cy-King forward again. He stood resolutely, barely even flinching when he was suddenly clawed. His left arm fell useless at his side. Grunting, he punched the Cy-King in the eye. It stumbled back with a screech, and Turbo, in his rage, jumped off, drew a knife, and charged._

_The man - it was definitely a man - defending the young Prince fell hard, the knife stuck in his stomach. He managed to kick Turbo off his feet, somehow knocking him out. Cola could see a little more of his strange Hero._

_He had short, neat, dark gray hair, royal clothes; a dark purple coat with a gold insignia on the left cuff and golden licorice strings for the hood, dark blue pants, black boots with gold treads, and a small golden crown, reminisce of King Candy/Turbo's crown. King Candy. . . the man half turned, his hand pressed against the wound on his stomach. He . . . he looked like Cola. In a strange way, he looked like some sort of older version of the young prince, a few wrinkles here and there, his dark brown eyes showing pain and affection._

_The elderly man looked like he would be about Felix's height, if not just barely taller, and he frowned at the chains on the princes wrists. __He scooted closer, somehow undoing the chains on Cola. He pulled the prince into a hug, gently whispering, _

_"You didn't think I'd leave you all alone to deal with that tyrant, did you? I would have come back and socked him in the nose if I could have." Cola looked up at him with big, round eyes._

_"Who are you?" he asked, and the old man chuckled, a deep, hearty sound._

_"I know who you are, my little Dwarf Prince. 'You are my _Thsunshine_, my only _Thsunshine_, you make me _Thsmile_, when Thskies are gray. Tho I won't let, them take my _Thsunshine_, take my _Thsunshine_, a-way.'" he smiled kindly down at the confused little Prince. He rocked him gently, repeating the little song. A song that sounded so familiar, yet so far away. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_/\/\/\/\_

Cola woke from his dream slowly. He was still being rocked, but it felt. . .wrong. The person holding him didn't have soft clothes, and felt bigger. He opened his eyes, and it took him a moment to realize he was being held by a certain Wrecker. He looked up at Ralph, stretching out his arms in a small yawn.

"Wha' are ya' doin'?" he asked sleepily, having not gotten through the least few dregs of his dream. Ralph gently lifted him up, the prince currently resting in the palm of his hand.

"You were thrashing around and screaming quite a bit. And you kept talking in your sleep, too. At first I thought you were awake." replied Ralph.

"So, you were singing that song?" asked Cola. Ralph seemed confused.

"I wasn't singing anything. Why? What was your dream about?" Cola looked down, before looking up guiltily at the Wrecker.

"At first, is more like a memory or a flashback. Stuff like the race, Cybugs," he shuddered, "fighting you, flying into lava stuff-"

"Hang on, fighting me? Kid, I never met you before last week, and, no offense, but I'd crush you like a bug in the first five seconds." Cola continued as if he hadn't heard.

"Ans then, I was just in this. . . void, I guess. It was dark and cold and lonely, but then, _it_ showed up."

"'It'?"

"King Turbo-bug. It was there, and bigger than I thought, and _Turbo_-Turbo, as in the original, was riding it. They chased me. I was chained against this wall. I couldn't escape. And then. . ." Cola paused, frowning.

"That sounds pretty bad, kid. When I said I thought you were awake, I meant it. You kinda acted like you were stuck to the wall, and calmed down after I picked you up." Cola shook his head, letting his messy bangs fall over his eyes.

"Well, there was this man, maybe Felix's height? He stood between me and them, and somehow managed to throw them back . . . like you with a giant gumdrop. Even when Turbo got him bad, he managed to knock him out. He took the chains off and held me. He told me that if you could've, he would have punched King Candy in the face. But the thing is. . ."

Cola paused again, brow furrowed. "What? Was it something from your backstory?" Cola shook his head.

"I don't know. I don't think me and Nelly _have_ back-stories. This guy wore clothes similar to me, but more fancy. Purple coat with these gold bits on them, blue pants, black shoes like me and Nelly but with gold treads. He had a full head of dark gray hair. He had this crown, and it was similar to King Candy's. And he kinda looked like a grandpa version of me. Sort-of. We kinda looked alike, at least."

Ralph remained quiet, thinking this over, but Cola didn't stop. "He didn't tell me his name, but he said he knew me, that I was his prince, and then he sang this little song. And he kinda lisped it, too. But it was only on the song. . ." he trailed off, suddenly feeling odd about this whole thing.

Who was this guy? Why did he look like a 'Royal', and why was he dreaming of him? Why had he felt so safe, so reassured, in his presence?

"Well, kid, I don't know what to tell you. Dreams are just dreams, after all."

"Are they? Didn't you dream about something, something you always wanted but never really knew how to find?" asked Cola, looking up owlishly through his bangs at the Wrecker. Ralph paused, silently cursing his lack of tact. This kid was smart, always asking, clarifying, figuring things out if he didn't already know. He acted like a leader at times, but issued his 'commands' in a way that felt more like a request and made you want to do it regardless.

"Well, yeah, but when your asleep, it's different, made up."

"Why are they different? Can't they be the same sometimes?" Ralph sighed, gently setting the nine-year-old on the bed. That was the other thing with him. In an argument, he tried to make both sides of the story equally true, so no one was really to blame, resolving the problem with little effort. This kid saw two or more sides to everything, and right now, it was just making it harder on the Wrecker.

"Well, I guess, sometimes, but how would you know?" relented Ralph.

"I felt like I knew him, or should have, and the song was so familiar. . ." he trailed off, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. Ralph chuckled lightly.

"Well, maybe you saw him somewhere. I have to get going before the arcade opens, but I'll see you afterwards, kiddo." Ralph squeezed through the door, managing not to break it, smiling as he heard a tired 'Bye' after him.

* * *

_Meanwhile, underneath the castle_, a man in a torn up purple jacket and blue pants, dark grey hair messy, his hands chained above his head, awoke with a start, looking around wildly before sighing. He had dreamed of him again, a person he loved but would never see again. Looking up at the window, he could hear the car engines revving, making feel all the more like he was fighting a pointless battle, but he still fought.

"You are my _Thsunshine_, my only _Thsunshine_, you make me _Thsmile_, when Thskies are gray. Tho please give, give me my _Thsunshine_, give me my _Thsunshine_, back today." the little song, sung sadly and happily, with a heavy lisp on it, made the man smile, if even a little bit.

He sighed despondently, pulling at the shackles around his wrists, that were rubbed raw and red, stained with crimson. The crimson stained the shackles, him, and the ground, but it was mostly dried stuff. He started up a little sing to the tune of the previous song.

"My little Dwarf Prince, my Pixie Princess, I miss you, so much. I know that, when I get out, we will be happy, at last." Filled with a new determination, he scrambled at the ground with his legs, trying to stand, but he only managed to kick a dusty, golden crown into a corner before yelping and sinking back to the ground. His right leg was badly sprained, if not broken entirely.

He sighed, wincing at the pain before trying again. He had lost his grandson, his kingdom, had his very identity stolen and morphed.

But he still fought, even as his wrists began to bleed a bright crimson, weakening him to the pint where he had to stop and rest. He would keep trying.

For his home, for his citizens, the whole Arcade even.

And for his little lost Pixie Princess.

* * *

**Okay, that was a lot more than I originally thought. Once more, please review, leave a suggestion for a name for this new mystery guy, etc. **

**~Keep Calm and Race On - Cola and Vanellope~**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon and Sun~**


	15. Old Family, Old Threats, part 1

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Okay, well, that was fun last chapter. I apologize for the lack of action, I wanted to cover some ground on stuff.**** I'll let you read and draw your own conclusions. **

**Also, I recall someone asking me to write a chapter for Halloween. Not gonna happen, even though it sounds like fun. However, this chapter has some spooky stuff in it, so I guess it counts. Sort-of. When I start up a drabble fic whenever, that'll have holiday specials, I promise.**

**Onwards!**

* * *

**Chapter 15:** Old Family, Old Threats, part 1

* * *

After sleeping well into the day, Cola woke up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle whatever came his way. His dream still weighed heavily on him, though. In an attempt to clear his thoughts, he took a walk around the perimeter of the castle. Normally, he would have talked to Sun or Crescent about it, but they were in Fix-It Felix Junior. Crescent had wanted some darkness after being in such bright light 24-7.

Which makes a lot of sense if he thought about it, considering that she was like the moon. Or maybe he was over-thinking it. He was around the back end of the castle, looking up at these little windows that had bars over them. They were from the Fungeon - no, dungeon. Both he and Vanellope hated that play on words. He was walking beneath one that was closer to the ground.

It was about 20 feet off the ground, and more heavily locked up, it seemed. Four thick bars went up and down, and four more went side to side over them. What pulled his attention to it, however, was the faint song he could hear. What puzzled him at first was that they even had a prisoner. The last prisoners that had been there had been Vanellope and Felix during the 'Turbo' fiasco.

What confused him even further was the song itself. He recognized it. It was from his dream, or at least, a variation of it.

"You are my _Thsunshine_, my twin _Thsunshines_, you make me happy, when the thsky is, wet and gray. Tho please give, give me my _Thsunshines_, give me my _Thsunshines_, today." Cola stumbled back, tripping over a bit of rock candy, falling on his but as he stared up at the window in disbelief. That voice, it was the same as the mans voice in his dream.

What was going on here?! Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Cola walked over until he was directly below the window.

"Hello?" he called, and the singing stopped instantly. "Is anyone there?" Cola never recieved a response, and eventually, he walked away. But only enough so that whoever was there would think he was gone. The singing started up again not too long afterwards, but it was different. A different song to the tune of the first.

"My little Dwarf Prince, my Pixie Princess, I miss you, so much. I just know that, when I get out, we will reunite at last." there were scuffling sounds and a bit of cursing. Clanking, more scuffling and a hiss of pain before a small growl of frustration.

"Why the Gumdrops did he have to be so dang smart. I swear, he's-" more cursing, that would have definitely earned the young prince a scolding if he repeated it. He'd heard enough.

Bits and fragments of memories came back to him, and he could remember. "Grandpa. . .is that really you?" he murmured, looking at the window with wide eyes.

He was getting him out of there. The only problem was, he had never really been in the dungeon, and whoever was in there appeared to be in the deepest, top-notch security level.

The arcade was open, however, so Cola had time to think and plan his next move. He finally decided to ask Sour Bill. Without mentioning his dream or anything, he merely mentioned that he had heard something round the back of the castle. Sour Bill didn't know of any prisoners that they had, and Cola shrugged and wandered off.

He knew where the entrance to the dungeon was, heck, he even knew where the keys were for the doors. Grabbing a small pocket knife, a flashlight, and a bottle of 7UP, he stuffed them in his pocket with the keys and went down into the dungeon. It was dark and rather spooky, even with the lights on. After searching through the entire place, he found a set of stairs going down.

Which lead to him searching that entire floor, coming up completely empty-handed. He opened up a cell door, propped it open, and peeked out the window. It was pretty high above the ground, but he could just barely see another set of windows below him. He searched through the entire floor again before leaning against a wall at the far end. He was frustrated, to say the least, and he didn't know where to look next.

Until a small bit of the sugar cube wall slid backwards and a secret passage opened up. He ended up flat on his back, but he got right back up and went down the stairs. After getting to the bottom of the long flight of stairs, Cola was glad that he thought of bringing a flashlight. Taking it out and clicking it on, he quickly saw that there was only one door, and everything was dusty with fine cocoa powder and had cotton candy cobwebs strewn about in the _everywhere_.

There were even little black sprinkle spiders crawling around on the snow-white webs. No one had been down here for a long, long time. Picking up a small remaint of something long and thin(a spear from the Oreo Guards?) he curled the webbing around it to make a path to the door. He cautiously stuck a finger out and tried a tiny piece of the web, and it tasted like sugar.

The door was very thick and sturdily built, with a huge lock on it. Upon closer inspection, there was more than one lock, three to be precise. Looking through the lowest keyhole, Cola could see a rather tattered version of the man that had helped him in his dream, except his crown was gone and he was stained with blood, fresh and old.

The elderly man was looking at the window, sadness adoring his features. His expression changed to something more resolute, and he tried to stand. His arms were chained over his head, but he soon dropped back down with a muffled hiss of pain. His right leg looked injured. Cautiously knocking on the door, Cola kept peeking through the keyhole.

The mans' head snapped up, and he glared at the door angrily. "What, are you here to gloat again?" he growled menacingly, but his voice sounded strained and weak, despite the fight in it.

"No, I'm here to set you free." answered Cola. The man looked at the door in profound disbelief before grinning.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he called, peering at the door with a curiosity Cola hadn't really seen before on any grownups. It made the man seem more friendly and the familiar feeling spiked again. It made the young prince all the more sure that this was the right thing to do. He pulled out the keys and got to work. One problem.

None of the keys worked. He tried every key in every lock, but no luck. He kicked at the door angrily.

"What's the problem?" called the man, and Cola peered through the keyhole again. The man seemed concerned, but not in a 'Why aren't I out yet' way, more like 'are you alright' way. The room was coated with dust but had less cobwebs than the outside.

"The stupid keys don't work. I think that I'll have to get my friend. He'll be able to knock the door down." Cola sighed, setting his forehead against the door.

"Who are you, anyway?" Inside the cell, the old king blinked. He wasn't sure whether to answer and lose all hope of rescue, or lie and escape by deceit. Recalling what his captor had done to get Candy in his current position, he decided to bring this up.

"Why are you letting me out if you don't know who I am? For all you know, I was put here for doing something really bad." Cola thought about that.

"No one really deserves to be locked up, especially if someone important is waiting for them to come home." the former king sighed.

"I'm King Candy von Schweetz, caretaker of Sugar Rush, etc. Who are you?"

My name is Cola-*_ACHOO!?*_" he sneezed as he accidentally inhaled some cocoa dust.

"Well, Cole, I don't think talking here is going to get us anywhere soon. Depending on the time, I suggest you get you friend over here when you can. I can wait a little longer." Cola nodded, realized that the old king wouldn't be able to see it, and spoke aloud.

"Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't give up." he started back up the stairs, just hearing the old monarch call,

"I've been fighting for a long time, kiddo, I ain't quitting yet." with a small, deep chuckle at the end. In an amused way, as if he were telling a story to some kids or something. Cola watched in fascination as the hidden passage sealed itself after he left, before hurrying up the next two flights of stairs. He was out of breath when he got out of the dungeon, but he barely stopped.

He ran full speed for Game Central Station, only pausing long enough to see the time. The arcade was closed. He tore into the station, running straight for 'Fix-it Felix Jr.'. Felix was just walking out when Cola grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him towards Sugar Rush.

"Wha'-Cola, what are you doin-AH!?" Felix yelped as Cola suddenly glitch-teleported with the handyman, leaving him feeling dizzy and disoriented as Cola continued to drag him along.

"No time, need help." Felix was too fuzzy-headed at the moment to argue. He was already halfway to Sugar Rush on the train when his head finally cleared.

"Cola, you better explain what is going on right now! I had plans for tonight!" protested Felix. Cola looked back with a cross between concern and urgency.

"Sorry, Felix, but something came up and I really need your help with it. I'll explain to whoever later." replied the young Prince. Felix, while still a bit agitated, said nothing in return. It didn't take long for Cola and Felix to arrive at the castle. The little guy was running and half-dragging the handyman behind him, speed-glitching every now and then.

Felix needed a breather by the time they made it, and Cola left to 'gather supplies'. After a few minutes, he reappeared with a small backpack. "Come on, let's go!" Felix followed after him, but halted at the entrance to the dungeon.

"The _Fungeon?!_ Young man, you had better tell me what's going on this instant." said Felix sternly, hands on his hips. Cola looked back with a mixture of anticipation, worry, and hope.

"It's hard to explain, but I need someone I can trust right now to help me. You have to see it to believe it anyway." he replied, before slipping inside. Felix sighed and followed him. Cola wasted no time, going through the upper levels and straight to the hidden passage. He paused outside it, turning to the handyman.

"You need to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want anything especially bad to happen to soon." Felix nodded mutely. If he hadn't been anxious before, he was now. After feeling the wall, Cola pushed his wait into the wall, pushing in the small bit of wall. The passage revealed itself silently, and the twosome walked through. After descending the long row of stairs, they finally made it to the door.

Felix's eyes widened when he saw the cobwebs and spiders, glowing and glinting in the flashlight beam and spread across the whole room, ceiling to floor, wall to wall. The only clear space was where Cola had made a small tunnel to the door.

"Jiminy. . . no ones been here for awhile, have they?" he said aloud, flinching slightly as a spider lowered itself on a tiny thread above him. His voice had echoed up the stairs, nearly spooking the daylights out of him.

"You guess right. Who are you? One of Cole's friends?" called a deep, kind voice from within the cell. Cola snapped to attention and walked through the little tunnel. Felix hung back by the entrance, and Cola huffed and grabbed the spear. He stuck it in the highest lock, beginning to slowly twist it back and forth.

"Yeah, I'm back! I brought my buddy, Felix, to help fix you up." Felix began to walk in the little tunnel of webbing, flinching back as a strand of it hit his face. There was a spider attached to it. He resisted the urge to squeal as it began to crawl on his face. Cola grinned as the highest lock went _click_.

"Nice to meet you, Felix," the man paused, and when Felix didn't respond, he continued, "I know that we aren't meeting in the best of circumstances, but I really appreciate you helping me and Cole out anyway. I don't know a lot of people who would. . . ." he trailed off, followed by some clanking sounds and pained groans. Cola raised his eyebrows at the name but said nothing.

"You okay?" Felix called, finally getting the spider off and walking up to the door. Cola took a look through the lowest keyhole, then hurriedly got to work on the next highest.

". . . I've seen better days, lets leave it at that. . ." he finally replied, voice strained and weak. ". . . you can call my KC. . . . ." he added. Cola stopped dead, the middle lock having already gone _click_, eyes wide. With tears beginning to stream down his face, he got to work on the last lock.

"Uh, are you alright there, buddy?" asked Felix, becoming rather concerned as he saw the upset, determined expression on his small friends face. Cola ignored him and cheered quietly as the last lock finally went _click_, and he began to shove the door open. Felix joined in after a moment, and together, they were able to access the room.

Felix gaped a little at KC. He had bruises and small cuts all over him and his clothes. His wrists, arms, and the cuffs were red with blood, a lot of it fresh-looking. His right leg seemed twisted and bent at a funny angle, ever so slightly, but enough to be noticeable. One of his most distinguishing features to Felix, however, was his likeness to Cola.

He seemed like an elderly version of the little guy, with ruffled, dark grey hair and chocolate brown eyes just a shade darker then the young Prince's. Cola was already fiddling with the cuffs, and KC was staring up at him in, what appeared to Felix, utter shock. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape.

"I th-thought you s-said your n-name was C-cole." he stuttered, hope beginning to strain through his features. Cola shook his head as he finally undid the lock on one of the cuffs. KC looked down as his arm dropped, lifting it and wiggling his fingers for a moment, forming a loose fist and stretching his fingers repeatedly. Cola shook his head as he worked on the other cuff.

"My name is Cola, actually." he soon got the other cuff off, and KC stretched his limbs shakily before rubbing his wrists, wincing in pain and frowning at the blood. Cola crouched down and gently felt KC's bad leg. The man in question winced, but didn't try to stop him. Cola looked up at Felix expectantly. Felix nodded after a moment.

"I can fix it." he said, trying to sound upbeat, yet failing somewhat. The sight of the blood was making his stomach roll. First, he fixed KC's leg, then his wrists, bruises, and cuts.

"Thanks for helping me out, Felix. That golden hammer of yours is real handy. Wish we had one of those around here." he chuckled some, as if it were some sort of joke. Cola pulled a bottle of 7-Up from his pack and handed it over to the former prisoner.

KC tried to grip the bottle, but fumbled it. It fell to the ground, sending up a small puff of cocoa dust.

Frowning for a moment, he quickly slapped a grin on his face. Wriggling his fingers teasingly at Cola, he exclaimed, "Whoops, butterscotch fingers!" Cola laughed at the clever bit of wordplay, and it managed to bring a smile Felix's face as well. However, it showed that they would have a serious problem to deal with.

After seeing the KC couldn't hold the bottle himself, Felix picked it up, unscrewed the lid, and helped the elderly man take a long drink from it. Cola then gently pulled on his arm, trying to get him to stand up. It turned out to be harder than they thought.

The elderly mans legs nearly buckled when they finally got him into a standing position, and it took both Cola and Felix to keep him upright. Before they left, however, he politely asked if they would grab his crown. Cola scampered over to grab it, dusting it off lightly.

That he had a crown, and it's similarity to King Candy's crown, however, is what tipped the handyman off. "T-turbo?!" he cried out in panic, withdrawing himself quickly from "KC's" side. Unable to keep himself steady, he fell forward on his face. He looked up, rather stormily at that.

"If I was Turbo, I'd been racing in the Arcadian Heavens by now." he snapped, trying without success to stand again.

* * *

**Oh my Programmers, this took forever! I had so much trouble figuring out how to apply KC's personality traits and match it up with his reactions. I finally did it, however, and now we have a greater mystery to unravel. I'll try to make it as un-confusing as possible. Please review!**

**~Keep Calm and Race On - Vanellope and Cola~**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Sun and Moon~**


	16. Old Family, Old Threats, part 2

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph.**

**I dunno what to say. Besides the following. Read on!**

* * *

**Chapter 16:** Old Family, Old Threats, part 2

* * *

Cola immediately stepped in to help "KC" into a sitting position, while Felix repeated, utterly lost for a moment, "The _'Arcadian Heavens'_?" KC resisted an eye-roll.

"I kinda sorta maybe made it up. It was supposed to be part of a story. Besides, we're all alive, aren't we? We're more than just coding and bits of machinery. We have real lives, we make our own choices, and we sometimes go against or programming. Out of jealousy, just visiting, or because we thought it was the only thing that would help anything."

KC paused, staring at the floor blankly before pulling himself but together. "Sorry, kinda thought out loud there." Cola quickly cut in and went on to explain what he knew, remembered, and what he had guessed. Felix, while hesitant, helped the young Prince to get KC out of the dungeon.

"We had just been plugged in. It was me and Vanellope and everyone else. We all instinctively knew what to do, who we were, and all that. I would start the races with Vanellope, and she would race in them. That first day, she stood in the 'Royal' stands with me, both of us in our royal clothes. She freaked out about, complaining that she'd rather be on the track rather that uncomfortable, frilly old dress.

"Well, I decided to take a look at the codes to see if I could do that. As it turns out, she already _had_ racing put in her code. She was just programmed with some royal get up, besides this deactivated clothing code, which is what she pretty much always wears now. I had a deactivated outfit similar to hers, but racing wasn't really put in my code.

"What I found not too long after was a 'King Candy' codebox. I opened it up, and saw that it was deactivated, kind-of like an unlockable character, but without any sort or activation code. After talking to Vanellope about it, I activated the King Candy code. He appeared in the castle, and, unlike us, he had a bit of backstory. It's rather sad, actually.

"Apparently, our games programmers and developers had thought of a story for the game. Something about King Candy's great grandfather and great aunt having started up the kingdom of Sugar Rush; King Cola and Princess Vanellope. The idea was that they were twins, and since the entire land fared so well for the entirety of their reign, that twin leaders were kinda revered.

"His backstory is that his son, who was married, died in some sort of car accident; leaving me, Vanellope, and the kingdom in his care until we were of age. I guess that they had to cut most of that, pulling King Candy from actually being placed in the game, Vanellope be stuffed in that dress so I wouldn't be standing alone, and no back-stories."

"Hang on, he's your _grandfather?!_" exclaimed Felix in shocked surprise.

"Yes, now please, I'm not done."

"Sorry." mumbled Felix.

"It okay. For the next two weeks, he pretty much stayed in the castle. We didn't want to bring him into game-play outright, and we wanted to learn from him. He treated us like his grand-kids, and we thought of him as our grandfather. We wrote up a story, 'Tales of the Sugar Rush Kingdom' and stuck it in the library. Anyway, after two, maybe three weeks of being with, he just. . .disappeared. Poof!"

Cola exaggerated with his hands, while King Candy looked down guiltily.

"Besides me and Vanellope, everyone seemed to forget about him at the same time. It was the most bizarre thing. Sour Bill, the doughnut cops, Beard Papa, the Oreo Guards, the other racers and citizens. . . they were all aware of his presence or were good friends with him, but they just. . forgot. They seemed to think we were making it up or something. I went looking for him myself, and I met someone who said they could help me.

"He wasn't to much taller than I was, and even though he looked kinda creepy, I followed him. He said that his game was vintage, to explain his, err, _odd_ appearance. We struck up a deal. He would show me where he believed he saw Grandpa, and in return, we would fit him in somewhere in our game. I should have never listened to him. The moment we were outside the games firewall barrier, he pushed me down and stuck me with a knife."

Cola paused and shuddered, rubbing at his stomach before continuing walking and talking. KC looked down angrily, muttering something about pop-rocks and Skittles.

"The dude said that he was gonna race here whether I liked it or not, and stalked off. It was during game hours, so no one would really miss me or even be able to go looking for me right away. It was hours later, and I could just hear Nelly's voice when it started. I was starting to dissolve into dark blue pixels. I managed to stand somehow and got inside the game, but it didn't stop!

"Vanellope found me, hugged me, told me not to give up. I was nearly entirely pixels, about to dissolve away when I told her-" Cola's breath hitched, and he seemed unable to speak for a moment.

"I told her I loved her. And I completely faded away." Cola paused in his talk, brows furrowed in confusion before continuing. "For awhile, it was all black nothingness that I was floating in. Then, I saw a small pinprick of light in the distance. Well, two, actually. I was able to 'swim' a little closer, and see them.

"One seemed to sparkle and glow warmly, and I could just. . ._tell_ that everything would be okay if I went through it, and I would never have any problems ever again. The other, however, looked more like it was made of sugar or candy, and held a light like home, yet was filled with problems. So I chose to go home."

Cola stopped again, peering cautiously through the entrance for the dungeon. There was no one in sight or within hearing. Felix and KC looked at eachother, appalled. The poor little guy made it sound like he had the choice to officially '**Game Over**' himself, but he chose the light that would lead him home. All conversation stopped as they sneaked King Candy through the castles corridors until they got to Cola's room.

Slipping inside, Cola bolted the door shut. He helped his grandpa get comfortable on the bed, so he was sitting upright. The poor man looked downright guilty, as if it were all his fault that any of this happened.

"I woke up really confused. I didn't know what was going on. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but then I saw myself in the mirror. It was King Candy I saw staring back at me. I couldn't move on my own, and could barely feel anything. I could only think my thoughts. I didn't know exactly what was going on, but all I knew was that, somehow, Turbo had done this. That it was_ him_, controlling my every move, ruling the kingdom and stopping Nelly from doing what she was made to do."

"Then why does King Candy, or the one that was being controlled by Turbo," Felix changed quickly, glancing at KC, "look different than KC?" he finished.

"I might be able to answer that." began KC, looking down at his lap. "Everything that Cola said is the truth, unfortunately. Turbo appeared out of nowhere one day, smooth-talking me. I don't know what he did, but that level in the Fungeon. _Dungeon_," he quickly corrected himself with a disgusted grimace.

"That he locked me up in was not there before. I know of every secret place, animal, and racer in the game, and that had not been there. He knocked me out and I woke up in there. I struggled against the chains, but then, the oddest thing happened." he furrowed his bushy, dark grey eyebrows in thought.

"Well? What happened?" asked Cola, climbing onto the bed to sit next to his grandfather. The old king sighed, weakly placing an arm around his grandson's shoulders affectionately.

"Well, everything went black, and then, I was seeing something unexpected. I was at the entrance to the code room, just leaving. But I could not control myself. Every movement, every sweep of my eyes, my very voice; I wasn't in control. He lisped with every '_s_' word, puns and play on words, _my_ puns and play on words; that thief stole it all. He even altered my appearance.

"For a long time, I would find myself chained to the wall in that cursed dungeon cell, and whenever I fell asleep, I would find Turbo moving me and everything. I could hear his every thought, but he could not hear mine. The biggest thing that kept me fighting the whole time was Vanellope. I was fighting to free her and the kingdom from Turbo's evil clutches."

KC scowled stormily at his lap, rubbing his wrists lightly.

"What about me?" piped up Cola. KC playfully ruffled his hair.

"What about you?" he asked teasingly.

"Why were you fighting only for Nelly? Aren't I important?" asked Cola, a trembling lip and wet eyes showing how he really felt. KC immediately pulled him into a hug, stroking his hair gently.

"You are important to me, never doubt that. Turbo came down to me when I was in the dungeon, before he did whatever he did in the vaults. He told me that he had killed you; **_outside the game_**." KC's breath hitched, his shoulders shaking slightly. Felix gave a low gasp, hands to his heart in sympathy.

"I felt completely broken and lost for a time. At the same time, he told me that he had ripped up Vanellope's code, and I felt my whole world shatter. It's in my code to guide and protect you both. It's the first thing, ruling out everything, even racing, which was my favorite thing when I was young - according to my backstory, at least."

The more the handyman heard of the two's tragic stories, the more he began to feel for them. He padded up and laid, after moments hesitation, a hand on KC's arm. KC had began to sob quietly, tears dripping down his cheeks. Cola would soon be following him down that track, and the old king was trying to turn it around.

"H-hey now, there's no need to cry. Your okay, and Nelly's okay, and now I'm okay. Everything's been turned around. We'll be alright. Turbo," he spat the name out with suppressed venom, "is _gone_. He can **_never_** hurt us again." KC looked up at Felix, whispering a quiet thank you before, unexpectedly, pulling the handy man into a weak hug.

Cola latched into Felix as well, making it a group hug. Between a member of the new family that Cola had begun to forge, and a lost, older one that he had found.

* * *

_Meanwhile, In 'Fix-it Felix Jr.' . . ._

Crescent stared up at the giant screen.

She could easily recall when she had looked in and seen the characters, willing Felix on in her head, even cheering for Ralph or saying that he had won fairly when she lost, even playing badly on purpose so that the 'Bad Guy' would have a chance to feel like a winner himself. Which was all make believe, of course, but it was fun and she had loved believing that her favorite game and book and movie characters had been real.

Now, on the opposite side of the screen, where her make-believe was all real and more than she had ever imagined, the lioness felt tiny and powerless. Before all the 'zapping herself into video games' craziness started, Crescent had been a bit of a different person.

She could see a bit of good in nearly everyone, thinking of reasons if none were found or offered or hinted about why someone acted the way they did. In 'Fix-it Felix Jr.', everything had made perfect sense. She made up little stories, about the different characters she saw in the games, making a story for why each did what they did, how certain things, like Felix's hammer, did what they did.

Most of all, she came up with reasons as for why the 'Bad Guys' did what they did. Because deep down, everyone had a reason, no matter how smothered and warped it might become from lies and time. The reason didn't make it anymore right for them to do whatever they did, but it allowed her to better sympathize with them. Ralph's' was among the simplest, when she had first seen the game.

The Nicelanders moved his stump right into the dump, and he gets mad and decides to wreck their home to show them how it felt to have your home ruined. Then, Felix comes in, one of the 'Little People' to the giant man, fixing everything and restarting his cycle of payback. But since actually coming to the arcade, she had thought more about, and had finally settled on a story that didn't only include Ralph, but also everyone else.

Crescent had seated herself underneath a tree just a few yards away from Niceland, out of sight of players and characters. It was during arcade hours, so no one was likely to bother her. She had successfully tuned out the noise around her, focusing instead on the 'made up' section of the Sky Journals. She began to write with the silver feather in her grasp, weaving a tale for the Wrecker working in front of her, just beyond the trees.

_*'Ralph was a magical forest giant who had been living peacefully in the forested valley for many years, the hollow tree stump his home. It was warm in winter and cool in summer. He had the animals and other giants for his friends. One day, after discovering that the 'Little People' were moving in on their home, the giants all packed up and left, deciding to leave the valley and make their homes farther away._

_Ralph chose to stay. The stump had been his home for too many years and he was reluctant to give it up right away. The 'Little People' consisted mostly of dwarves, small, squat little guys and girls with small limbs and almost egg-shaped bodies. _

_The other kind of 'Little People' were a bit more rare. Humans; that's right, humans, a rare sight indeed in these parts, while they still had that lingering sense of magic in their veins._

_Ralph had his bit of magic about him, too, as did all the giants. He grew up to have huge fists, _powerful _fists, made for many things. Most people would think that Ralph could only break and destroy; in other words, Wreck things. It was even in his name. _Wreck-it Ralph_. By the end of this tale, however, you'll learn that he could do much more than Wreck and break.  
_

_None of us is only one thing. We just need to look for what makes us different. Our differences make us who we, but shouldn't and do not separate us from everyone else.'*_

Crescent paused in her writing, looking around swiftly. She had heard something familiar, but what? She heard it again, and looked up. At the face of someone she thought she'd never see again.

"Wolfy?" she gasped. The feather disintegrated into silver dust and the Sky Journals disappeared as she climbed up the tree she was sitting under. He couldn't see her, but she could see him.

It was her cousin, still there and for a moment, she thought to call out, get his attention, tell him how much she had missed him. Mr. Litwak came over at this moment and told him,

"Last game of the day, kiddo. Then I have to kick you out 'til tomorrow." Wolfy nodded, turning his attention back to the game. Scrambling down from the tree, she was about to leap into view when something tackled her. It was Gold, pinning her to the ground and jamming his tail in her mouth to keep her from roaring. They writhed in the shadows, just barely outside of the circle of visibility.

"Sis, no! We can't reveal ourselves! They'll think the game is broken and we could get it unplugged!" snapped Gold, slowly losing his battle with his sister. She threw him off, and was about to lunge out there when the game suddenly ended. Felix had just been defeated, while Ralph stood triumphantly on the top. Crescent could just hear Wolfy say something before he left.

"I know Luna always liked to let the Wrecking guy win every now and then, so congratulations, Ralph. Have fun living up top for a change." then, he turned and left. Leaving Crescent to break down in tears. She dodged away from everyone, running and running into the trees, finally climbing up one to try and avoid anyone trying to find her.

Luna was her name in the world of the 'Players'. But Luna Cielo was gone from that world; Crescent would never see her cousin again. She would never be able to talk to him, share games and ideas and adventures.

To try and see her old family, she had nearly pulled up an old threat for the rest of her friends.

* * *

**Ouch, I guess. It's a little . . . . . I dunno, to be honest. I guess Crescent is having a mite of trouble about her, though. Please review!**

**~Keep Calm and Race On - Vanellope and Cola~**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon and Sun~**


	17. Somewhere Only We Know

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**No clue what to say. Just read it, I s'pose. Warning, varying amounts of songfic-ness. The song? A slightly edited '**Somewhere Only We Know**'.**

* * *

**Chapter 17:** Somewhere Only We Know

* * *

After crying for who-knows-how-long, Crescent tried to calm down. She could not let _anyone_ find her in this vulnerable state. She decided to sing a song, as that had always comforted her in the old days. Her heart felt pained but she sang anyway. The song that came to mind was something she'd heard on the radio with. . . . . . . . . . . .Wolfy. She started to sing as tears came back to her eyes.

_"~I walked across an empty land_  
_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_  
_I felt the earth beneath my feet_  
_Sat by the river and it made me complete~"_ Unknown to Crescent, Sgt. Tamora Calhoun was currently searching in 'her neck of the woods' for the lioness. Hearing the song, Calhoun made her way in that direction.

_"~Oh simple thing where have you gone?_  
_I'm getting older and I need someone to rely on_  
_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_  
_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere new to begin_

_I came across a fallen tree_  
_I felt the branches of it looking at me_  
_Is this the place I used to love?_  
_Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?~"_ Sarge knew that she was close, and a silvery-leaf green glow pointed her even closer. Crescent had subconsciously changed to her human form Moon, tears spilling down her cheeks and eyes screwed shut.

_"~Oh simple thing where have you gone?_  
_I'm getting older and I need someone to rely on_  
_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_  
_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere new to begin~"_ Sarge peered up into the tree, unable to see past the leaves. She sighed and started climbing up.

_"~And if you have a minute why don't we go_  
_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_  
_This could be the end of everything_  
_So why don't we go_  
_Somewhere only we know?_  
_Somewhere only we know?~"_ When Sarge poked her head through, she realized that the tree was like a cube, shaped by leaves and supported by branches. Moon was there, cloak wrapped tight around her, leaning against the tree trunk, tears running down her cheeks and eyes screwed shut. Sarge settled herself next to her, and the teenager subconsciously cuddled up to her.

_"~Oh simple thing where have you gone?_  
_I'm getting older and I need someone to rely on_  
_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_  
_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere new to begin_

_And if you have a minute why don't we go_  
_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_  
_This could be the end of everything_  
_So why don't we go?_  
_So why don't we go?~"_ Sarge awkwardly placed a arm around the teenagers shoulders, but Moon didn't seem notice. What Tamora did notice was a few shallow claw-marks about the kids face, as well as a bruise or so.

_"~Ah-ah-ah_  
_Ah-ah-ah_

_This could be the end of everything_  
_So why don't we go_  
_Somewhere only we know?_

_. . .Somewhere only we know?_  
_Somewhere only we know?~"_ Moon let the song trail off, curling in on herself and beginning to sob. Sarge, though somewhat unaccustomed to this motherly role, tried to comfort the girl. Subconsciously leaning into Sarge's touch, Moon unexpectedly threw her arms around her. Sarge hugged her back gently. Her sobs eventually dropped down to sniffles, she finally seemed to notice what she was doing.

Moon looked up slowly at Sarge, silver eyes big and watery, like twin, round moons in a pond. Having become accustomed to narrowed cat pupils, Tamora was struck by how much. . ._younger_ Moon seemed now. Less capable and more dependable on others. After a moments pause, Moon pulled herself away and sat on a branch facing the Sargent, head lowered submissively.

"Are you here to end it?" she asks meekly, voice high and quiet, looking up with watery silver eyes before looking down quickly. Tamora blinked in surprise. She reached out a hand to try and comfort her, or reassure her perhaps, but Moon flinched back some, looking up. Her eyes held many emotions. Suppressed fear, anticipation, and forlorn loneliness.

"Moon, what's wrong? Sun told us what happened, or almost happened I guess, with your cousin." Moon looked up again, seeming conflicted, meeting Tamora's eyes before ducking her head down again. Tamora gently reached out and lifted the girls chin up, so that they were more-or-less eye-to-eye.

"You aren't here to beat me up?" Moon squeaked in baffled disbelief, silver eyes beginning to slowly lose their fear, though still wide and wet with tears. Tamora shook her head.

"No, and I don't know what gave you that idea in the first place." Moon sniffled and pulled her head from the soldier-lady's hand, looking down at her own hands.

"They would always beat me up if I seemed weak and or emotionally tied up. They always did it. They'd hunt me down for it. I never really fought back. So I tried to never show my weakness." Moon explained quietly. Tamora didn't like the sound of this.

"Who's 'they'?" Moon looked up again briefly, before quickly ducking her head again.

"The villagers. Mostly the other teenagers and young adults. Everyone was bigger than me. Standard height was just under yours. For adults, anyhow. They always went after me. Even though the ban pretty much stated that they should only attack me if I went against them or was seen to close to the village, they would still do it."

"Why'd you put up with it? You could've easily taken them down or escaped." Moon looked up and held Tamora's gaze. Something burned within her eyes, something raw and hot and nearly uncontrollable. A maternal fury, bitter hurt and a broken heart.

"They would've attacked Sun. They caught me once and told me that if I didn't let them do something, that they would go harder on him. So I protected him the only way I could." her voice had grown hard, but softened until it was little more than a bitter, pain-filled whisper when she finished. She plucked a leaf and fiddled with it, slowly tearing it apart.

Tamora was unsure how to reply to this. Moon _allowed_ herself to be attacked whenever she was/felt weak? And only to keep her little brother safe? How can you properly relate to that?

"I couldn't protect my little brothers from those stupid bug things." she continued bitterly, guiltily looking down at the leaves. "I can intimidate, reason, even _beg_ if I had too, but those, _things_ . . . they're machines. I haven't been able to sleep really. They keep attacking everyone in my nightmares and_ I can't stop them_!" she was nearly wailing, voice quiet and high-pitched.

"Listen, Moon, I know how hard it is wishing that you could have protected someone and couldn't, or that the only way was to allow yourself to get hurt like that. But here's the thing you gotta remember; you don't have to deal with those sickos anymore. You got us for your family, now. Ralph and Felix, your little brother, Vanellope, Cola; and you've got me, too."

Tamora quietly scooted over and wrapped an arm around Moons shoulders. Moon looked up at her in slight surprise, drying her eyes some.

"Th-thank you. It's been a long time since I've had anyone to talk to. I couldn't exactly talk it up with my prey." she wiped at her eyes again. Tamora arched an eyebrow.

"'Prey'? As in-"

"Hunting, yes. I didn't have much choice, really. My instincts drove me to hunt when I was real hungry, and being mostly-lion, even right now, I could just gulp down my food after I, er, killed it. It would just be slightly less tasty right now." Tamora made a bit of a face.

"I prefer cooked meat! I didn't really have much choice when it came to cooking out there, ya' know!" Moon waved her arms about some, trying to emphasize her point. She was sounding more like her old self.

"You should sing a bit more often." said Tamora suddenly.

Moon gave her a rather startled, baffled look. "_Sing_? Why?"

"'Cause, you kinda seem to be saying exactly how you're feeling then, plus your very good at it. Sing more often!" explain/exclaimed Tamora. Moon nodded absently, leaning against her and closing her eyes. Her breathing was getting even and smooth, and she half hugged and half clung to the Sargent.

"Thanks, mom." Moon mumbled, finally settling and falling asleep. Tamora was rather ataken back by being called mom. Moon would usually call her 'Sarge' or answer 'Yes, Mam'. Smiling, Tamora gently pulled a little more of the girls cloak about her, smiling some.

"Your welcome, kiddo."

* * *

It had been two days since KC had been pulled from the dungeon. He was doing very good, having little problems with holding and picking things up, walking about and such. So far, only Cola and Felix knew about his presence in the arcade. Currently, KC had just finished the book he had been reading, and was getting rather bored.

He had eventually convinced Cola to take him somewhere secluded outside of the castle. He had chosen the area around Diet Cola Mountain. He wasn't sure why he chose there, but it was a ways from the road and almost no one went there. Cola and Felix walked on out there. It was after hours, and Felix and Cola had to run off afterwards.

KC had a small pack of supplies, since his 'paranoid' grandson had insisted in case he couldn't get back sooner for whatever reason. They left him near the mountains, a place that was mostly-hidden for a rendezvous later that day. KC had a specific place in mind. He was searching the base of the mountain. After clambering around, under, and over giant, sugar-coated candies and rock candy and other stuff, he finally found the place he was looking for.

The secret entrance to the DCM Bonus Level. It was unfinished, of course, but he had several ideas for how to improve it and introduce it to the Players. Or at least the racers of Sugar Rush. And hey, why not admit it? He was still afraid of the hot, searing liquid that had destroyed him, _Turbo_, in the blast. He had to face his fear and get over it.

He was about to step through when he heard something. He could just feel the earth shake under his black licorice boots, could hear the lumbering footsteps. He didn't know of any animals native to Sugar Rush that would be that big; and he knew all of the kingdoms secrets! He turned his head towards where it was coming from.

Without too much hesitation, he darted into where he thought the entrance was; only to slam into the wall just to the right of it at full speed. He ended up sprawled on his back as stars danced across his vision. He shut his eyes with a quiet moan. Why didn't he _check _first? The rumbling footsteps were getting closer, but he barely noticed.

He could feel something tap at him as a voice that was friendly enough asked, "You okay?" he opened his eyes to see a large finger gently tapping him. He looked up to see an upside-down Ralph. Lightly brushing the large finger off, he smiled shakily and sat up slowly. Nothing felt broken or injured. He stood slowly and turned to face the Wrecker.

"I'm alright, thank you." replied KC, picking up his crown off the ground, lightly dusting it off. Ralph looked him over with curiosity and a bit of suspicion. He had almost crushed someone last Halloween because they were wearing a 'King Candy' costume. He didn't want to make a similar mistake. KC was also a bit nervous. He looked different now, for a number of reasons.

He didn't want someone, especially Ralph, to get the wrong idea. He knew that Ralph had done a lot for his little Sugar-cube Vanellope, and his game. The whole arcade even, for stopping Turbo.

"My name is KC, by the way." KC shifted his pack a little, looking up at the Wrecker with a smile. Ralph frowned a little.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Kc chuckled nervously, putting one of his licorice hoodie strings in his mouth to nibble on.

"You might. I dunno, I've just been hanging about in here. Not for long, mind you, but having a little camp-out is fun." KC replied, turning to look up at the mountain.

"I know how you stopped Turbo." he added. Ralph raised his eyebrows.

"You know about that?" he asked in disbelief. KC turned back and nodded seriously.

"I was actually in Sugar Rush during some of that. Those terrifying. . ._ bug_s, nearly got me. If not for you, well, I wouldn't have made it." KC flinched and shivered, recalling the Cybug's cruel, sharp metal jaws tearing him apart and making him into a monster. With a bigger monster in control. Ralph felt sympathy for the little man. The Cybugs were terrifying for him, and this guy was tiny in comparison.

"I understand how you feel about those things. My names Ralph." KC offered his hand, and Ralph gently shook it.

"Nice to meet you, good sir. It's hard to tell that your a Bad Guy. You Good through and through." said KC honestly. Ralph smiled. Very few people had said that to him.

"Thanks, KC. Question. Why are you dressed as King Candy? That's kinda like dressing as Turbo, you know." KC's smile fell hard, leaving looking worried and wary before he slapped a smile back on.

"Well, it's a long story, actually. . . you see, I'm actually the original King Candy. Before Turbo took over." KC started hopefully, flinching back from Ralphs stormy expression. He held his hands in front of him in a peace-seeking gesture.

"YOU!" roared Ralph, clenching his fists tightly at his sides, glaring down at the little man trembling before him. KC tried to keep from flinching again and running, every survival instinct in his code screaming at him to run. But he held his ground.

"_I'm gonna beat the filling out of you!_" bellowed the Wrecker, fists raised to smash the king. KC turned and started to run, but Ralph grabbed him by the backpack, crushing it with a _snap_ and _pop_ping sound. Ralph dropped KC in his surprise.

KC didn't get up. He slowly took the pack off, opened it up, and carefully lifted out the remains of a crushed gift-box. Ralph watched in mild surprise and confusion as KC held it to his chest, tears leaking slowly down his cheeks. He turned to look at the Wrecker. His expression was hurt and forlorn.

"He worked so hard on it. And I didn't even know what it was." KC said quietly.

"I'm sorry, man. I thought that you were, you know. . ." Ralph tried, as KC looked back down at the Wrecked remains of the special and carefully wrapped gift.

"I don't know, actually." KC replied quietly, setting the present on the pack, carefully beginning to peel it apart to try and find anything salvageable. This made Ralph feel even worse. This wasn't the first time that he had destroyed something special. That it was in practically the same place felt like a slap to the face.

"Well, King Candy was sort of Turbo, there was no original-" Ralph was interrupted as KC leapt to his feet, tears still wetting his face.

"**_I am not Turbo!?_**" little man shouted in venomous rage, standing up and stretching to his pitiful, four-foot height.

"I am_ not_ a game-unplugging physcopath with no regard for someones home and family! I would _never_ hurt my little Pixie Princess or Dwarf Prince, and I would _never_ try to prevent anyone from trying to do the one thing that they've **_always wanted_**, or _manipulate_ someone into doing something **horrible** to their **friend** just because it_ benefited_ **_me_**, and I would_** never**_-"

Ralph listened silently to KC rant on and getting louder and more infuriated for a few more moments before stopping him. "If you're not Tur - him, then who are you?" KC turned his back, breathing heavily to try and calm down, fists clenched tightly at his sides. He was glaring at the ground, practically shaking in his anger. When he finally turned, he seemed more agitated than anything.

"My name is King Candy von Schweetz." he finally got it. It wasn't very respectful, it was more steamed. "My apologies for being impolite, I'm just so, so," he stomped his foot down hard.

"Angry? At what, me?" asked Ralph. KC shook his head swiftly.

"Not at you, Sir, not at all. It's just that Turbo, makes me so, so-" he turned around again, walking a few steps away. He started pacing back and forth, back and forth, muttering angrily under his breath. After muttering something about pop-rocks and Skittles for the ninth time, he finally turned on his heel and plopped down in front of Ralph again with a muttered apology.

Ralph felt sorta amused by all this. "Someone had anger issues." KC looked up at him, forcing a bit of a laugh, but it sounded sharp.

"I suppose I do at times. I try to be more jolly, but. . . ." he gestured helplessly about himself and the pack. Ralph winced and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry, man, I didn't mean to, you know. . ." KC stood and lightly patted the giant on the arm.

"I'm not mad at you for it. Cola worked so hard on it though."

"Cola?"

"Well, yes, he's my grandson and-"

"Your Grandson? As in, your his grandfather? What about Vanellope?!" Ralph interjected, getting slightly panicky. He didn't know how Vanellope would react to him talking it up with a King Candy look-alike before she knew what was going on. KC nodded, before looking the way Ralph came. He seemed to panic slightly as he started gathering his things together.

"Someone is coming and I was instructed to stay out of sight." KC said in a panicked voice, looking around swiftly.

What? By who?" asked Ralph, holding out his hands to stop the king from running off.

"Cola and Felix."

"Felix?"

"Listen, if you want to talk to me later, look around the castle. I've been staying in Cola's bedroom. I gotta go!" KC dodged into the secret entrance of the mountain, going into a small tunnel a few yards forward and to the right. He ducked down into it, shivering at the chill the blue grid gave him as he slipped into the secret entrance.

Ralph watched him leave, before turning at the engine noise. Vanellope appeared moments later in her kart that he and her had made. She pulled up beside him, a grin on her face. She leapt up onto the hood.

"Hey, Stinkbrain! Ready to build a bonus track?" Ralph nodded, thinking of how to break the news of what he had just learned. Vanellope gestured to her kart, spinning and twirling on the hood.

"Well? Come on! Move your molasses!" Ralph decided that he would have a word with Felix later.

"I'm coming, President Fart-feathers." he climbed onto the back while Vanellope slid into the seat.

"So, where are we going?"

"Somewhere only we know." she replied, driving into the mountain.

* * *

**I had to rewrite a lot of this, because I just didn't like the original 'KC meet Ralph' scene. It was rather hard, but don't worry, I got it. Happy 'day before Halloween!'**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon and Sun~**


	18. Tappers and Glitching Schweet(z) Leaders

**Author's Note**

**I don't own Wreck-it Ralph**

**Well, last chapter was exciting. And we have a lot of people that need/want explanations. This chapter was kinda hard to right out. -_-' I hope you appreciate it. Tell me that you do by sending me a few reviews. :-)**

* * *

**Chapter 18:** Tappers and Glitching Schweet(z) Leaders

* * *

After a few minutes of having Moon snuggled up against her while in a tree, Calhoun finally decided that it was time to go back to Niceland. The others were probably worried sick by now. Carefully untangling herself from the sleeping teen, Calhoun briefly contemplated how she would get her out of the tree without dropping her. If the teen before her was in her lioness form (5 ft. 8 inch high), it would have been bordering impossibility.

Even in this smaller form, the teen was about 4 ft. 10 inches. It was like a personality swap, when Calhoun thought about it. A tough, fighting lion, and a timid, creative girl. When she had successfully gotten loose, Moon suddenly jerked up, eyes darting around as she lurched back, nearly falling out of the tree.

"Whazzit? Whozzere-?!" she yelped, blinking swiftly. When she saw Calhoun she relaxed her hunched, stiffened posture, stretching some.

"Oh, uh, hey Sarge. Whats going on?" Moon asked, gazing around uncertainly, a confused and rather lost expression planted on her face.

"Well, you had a bit of a freak-out session and I came to get you. You snuggled up on me when you fell asleep." explained Calhoun. Moon snapped to attention.

"I_ fell asleep_? Like. . ._this_?" Moon holds out her hands, examining them. She seemed deeply troubled. Finally, she looked back up at Calhoun.

"Why is that an issue?" asked Calhoun, beginning to climb down. Moon leapt down from the branch she was on. Bending her knees as she hit the ground, she sprang up in a little hop before settling.

"My natural form is my lioness form. When I fall asleep, my magic forcibly changes me to that form. Its the same for Sun, but he changes to his human one." explains Moon, following close behind Sarge as they start walking back to Niceland. Felix was pacing and wringing his hat outside, and Moon giggles girlishly before shushing herself, looking around nervously.

Felix lit up some when he saw them. "You're back! Crescent, are you okay? You scared us something fierce when you dashed off like that!" Moon froze midstep when Felix started fussing over her, unsure how to react with the sudden doting, while Calhoun laughed silently on the sidelines. Finally stepping back half a pace, Moon quietly asked,

"Where's Sun?" she looked from Felix to Calhoun. Felix took off his hat, wringing it nervously in his hands.

"I don't know. I saw him wander out of the game not to long ago." Moon stiffened, feeling at her chest, before frowning in confusion.

"Then. . .why aren't we. . . falling apart? Like last time?" she asked timidly, looking from one to the other.

"Maybe your links is getting stronger. The longer you stay, the stronger the link gets." suggests Felix. Moon nodded hesitantly, before smiling, flashing teeth that had slightly-longer-than-normal-canines. She seemed to brighten immensely, as if a dark cloud had been lifted from her skies.

"That means. . .we have more freedom. We're not as enclosed." she murmured, looking up at the screen. A screen that was a barrier, a window, between her old home. But she didn't have to worry now. Calhoun clapped her hard on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, soldier. Maybe we'll be able to find you both a game now. Wanna go to Tappers?" Moon nods enthusiastically, and the two head for the train, Felix trailing after them. He may not be a drinker, but he had to keep them out of trouble if any were to arise.

* * *

Before, when Moon had walked in Game Central Station as a lioness, everyone had given her a wide berth, saying from time-to-time, "Look out, Bad Guy coming!" it had only been a few times, but no one did that now. The only thing she wasn't accustomed to was the Surge Protector. When he halted them, eyeing Moon like some sort of killer.

"Who are you? You're not under any of my records." he drolled out suspiciously, skipping the usual procedure. Moon seemed a little ataken back, but Calhoun cut in.

"She's originally from a DS game, but got forced out. We're currently working on relocating her." Surge Protector(SP) nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"Name?"

"Crescent Moon Sky." she replied.

"Where are you coming from?" Moon gave him an odd look. Gesturing behind her, she replied,

"Uh, 'Fix-it Felix Jr.'?"

"And where are ya' headed?"

"I don't know."

"We're going to Tappers." replied Felix. While he and Calhoun answered the questions, Moon crept closer and started lightly poking at Surge, surprised and rather fascinated when her finger would slide through with a tiny, staticky shock. Soon annoyed with this, SP made his form solid, ending with a more intense shock and a sharp yelp from the girl.

"I would advise you to not do that in the future."

"Who are you?" she asked, nursing her hurt hand lightly.

"I'm the Surge Protector. I ensure that the games won't be damaged by electrical surges and power outages, besides keeping some form of order in here." he gave her a hard look, and she nodded.

"Sorry for the other day, I didn't know. My bad, Sir Protector." she gave a bit of a salute, trying to remain serious. SP nodded, glad that someone took him seriously for once.

"Very good. You'll be added into the database. Proceed." he sparked off to somewhere else, while Moon jumped and looked where he had been. Calhoun laughed and clapped a hand to the girls shoulder, bringing her along to Tappers, Felix following close behind. Before to long, all three were seated at Tappers, sipping on root beers and making small talk.

After finishing her 4th drink, Moon was, decidedly, drunk. She didn't quite realize that, though. A couple of guys from Street Fighters were a bar over, and one of them, Ryu, kept looking over at Moon before turning away, as if embarrassed. The other avatars were laughing at him. Calhoun caught something about Ryu liking miss Metal eyes, Ryu shushing them quickly.

It was only when Ryu, being shoved forward by his laughing coworkers, that the Sgt. made the connection. Ryu had a thing for Moon. Who was currently drunk. This could go wrong yet be funny on so many levels. Felix seemed to agree, but before they could get up and leave, Ryu started talking.

"H-hello, I couldn't help but notice you over there, miss. Uh. . ." he trailed off, looking at his feet and blushing slightly. Moon looked up at him almost lazily.

"Oh, hello. Who're you 'ga'n?" she slurred. Ryu gulped.

"M-my name is Ryu, miss, uh. . ."

"Moon Sky, at yer sehvice. Aren't you from 'Fleet Strikers the Secont' or sum'thin'?" she asked, slowly gaining curiosity. The other guys from Street Fighters were snickering, Zangeif among them. Ryu fiddled with his black belt for a moment.

"Well, it's 'Street Fighters 2'. I was wondering if maybe, you'd like too. . . ." he trailed off again, looking down shyly. Moon seemed to be getting the wrong idea. With Felix wringing his hat nervously and Calhoun doing her best not to laugh outright, Moon filled in the blanks for herself.

"Ya' wanna fight _me_? Well, sure I s'pose, if ya' think ya' can beat me!" she stood, swaying on her feet and fists raised, making a few play jabs at the abashed Ryu.

"Well, I was thinking that, maybe . . .we could . . . _go-on-a-date_?" he said the last part rapidly, blushing furiously as the other guys from Street Fighters started making cat calls and asking when the wedding would happen. Moon stared at him blankly, before she burst out laughing. Ryu stared, stunned. She finally stopped, lightly punching him on the shoulder.

"Fighting match, date, wha' e'er ya' wanna call ih. How 'bouting tomorrow, may'e? You can pick me up from 'Fix-it Felix Jr.'." Ryu seemed kinda flustered. Calhoun was doing her best to hold in her snickers as she stood and lightly guided Moon away.

"Uh, okay. See you tommorow." called Ryu, as the other guys from Street Fighter kept laughing at the embarrassed avatar. When Felix, Calhoun, and Moon were on the train and leaving Tappers, Calhoun finally let herself laugh. She laughed good and hard before letting it die down.

"Well, that was interesting." she snickered, but Felix looked at her with more than some disapproval.

"Tammy, do you really think that it was wise to let Moon set herself up for that? She's drunk, for Land's sake!" exclaimed Felix. Calhoun shrugged it off.

"Don't worry, if she doesn't remember anything, I'll help fill in the blanks for her. She didn't seem to think it was a date. Besides, whats wrong with a little fighting?" she flicked the bill of his hat over his eyes, a habit she had started soon after they started dating. Felix frowned.

"I still say it was a bad idea. We got her drunk! For Lands sake-!"

"- -you mentioned that already- -" interjected Sgt. Calhoun.

"-she's only _fifteen_, Tammy!? Don't you think that that's something that we shouldn't be doing?!" Felix continued. Moon, sitting on Felix's right, yawned and slouched down in her seat, snuggling up slightly on the handyman. Felix went into one of his honey-glows, Moon paying him no mind as she clung to him some and fell asleep. Calhoun laughed quietly at Felix's expense.

When they got back to Game Central, Calhoun gently scooped her up to take her back to Fix-it Felix Jr., while the handyman himself left on some sort of prearranged errand he had.

* * *

"What do you mean, you can't find him?!" exclaimed Felix, following quickly after the young prince, Cola. Cola shushed him, speaking just above a whisper.

"I mean, I can't find him! What do you think?" he replied shortly. When KC had failed to arrive at the meeting pint, Cola had dragged Felix in a wild goose chase looking for him, so far with no luck.

They had just rounded the corner and were approaching the secret entrance into the mountain, when Ralph suddenly came out. Both Felix and Cola had to back up quickly to avoid colliding with the Wrecker. Ralph, while surprised, wanted to talk to them regardless.

"Heeeeey, Ralph. Uh, how've ya' been?" started Felix, smiling nervous, fiddling with his hands. Ralph put his hands on his hips, giving a disapproving look.

"We're doomed." muttered Cola.

"Why didn't you tell me about King Candy being in Sugar Rush?" questions Ralph, getting straight to the point. Cola immediately felt fear smack him in the face. Ralph _knew_? What if he'd hurt Grandpa?! With a shout of and anger, Cola acted on impulse.

Charging forward, he started pounding on Ralphs stomach, shouting,

"What did you do to him?! Where's my Grandfather?!" Ralph, though surprised, gently plucked the young prince off him. Cola glared, crossing his arms. There wasn't much he could do now, with Ralph holding him by his hood.

"Yeesh, calm down Prince Carbonation. I didn't hurt KC. I only talked to him." Cola stuck out his tongue.

"It's Cola." he replied stubbornly. "And where is he now?" he insisted. He glitched suddenly, long enough that he escaped Ralph's grasp and landed on the ground, albeit unsteadily. Ralph jammed a large thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards the entrance to the mountain.

"He ran in there when I last saw him. We got along fine enough." at that moment, the blue grid appeared again as KC stepped through. He was dusty and had some sort of brown, dirt-like candy smeared all over him, but he looked fine otherwise. He paused when he saw the three of them before continuing.

"Oh, hello there Felix, Ralph. Cola, come here you little dwarf!" Cola squealed in surprise when KC suddenly grabbed him up and started tickling him, laughter filling the air. When they finally stopped, Cola was smiling again, rather than mad or upset.

"Did you like what I gave you?" asked the 'little dwarf', beaming up at his grandfather. KC's smile wavered, and Ralph rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, you see," KC glanced at Ralph before looking back at Cola.

"Actually, I kinda broke it, kid." Ralph cut in. Cola scowled at the Wrecker, demanding to know what had happened. After the brief explanation, the sound of an engine reached their ears. With little warning, and a flash of blue binary, Vanellope appeared in her kart. Hopping onto the hood, she planted her hands on her hips and glared at Ralph.

"Hey, Stinkbrain! Where the heck were ya'?! You missed the race!" asked Vanellope accusingly. Her eyes alit suddenly on KC, and she froze. Her eyes were huge and her jaw slack. For a moment, KC thought that she would scream and run. It was the last thing he wanted to happen. After a few tense moments, she squealed in delight, glitching in front of the old monarch.

KC took one small step back in surprise, but Vanellope latched onto him, hugging him tight.

"I thought you were gone! After the reset, you weren't there! But now you are, and Cola's here, and there's Moon and Sun and Sarge and Felix and Ralph and we can all be a family now!" she exclaimed in one long breath.

"Hang on, hang on, you remember him?" asked Cola, getting in Vanellope's face and frowning accusingly. She pushed him away.

"Well, yeah, it was when I saw this." from her hoodie pouch, she pulled out a folded up piece of paper. Unfolding it, she held it out for the others to see. On it was a hand-drawn picture of her, Cola, and KC, all in what appeared to be their current attire, in little race cars on the track. Each car had been drawn in a different style, as if more than one person had made this picture.

"I remember this! It was soon after we let King Candy out of the code vault." said Cola.

"Hang on, what am I missing here?" after sharing glances, the three von Schweetz explained everything. How Vanellope was originally a racer in Royal clothes, how King Candy had been activated, the fun times, what Turbo did that caused all the trouble, and KC getting freed from the dungeon.

"Wait a minute, I was fighting both of you up there?" Ralph asked Cola and KC, gesturing to the mountain.

"No." prince and king said simultaneously.

"It was emotionally and painfully strong feelings Turbo had, and that pulled my consciousness there at the time. I was a passenger riding shotgun. Cola was in the backseat behind us, so to speak." replied KC, subconsciously pulling both prince and (former) princess to his side protectively.

"But it's over now. We don't have to worry about Turbo anymore. He's dead and gone." continued Cola.

"Good riddance!" said all three. They looked at eachother before bursting out laughing. Ralph couldn't help but join in. Vanellope glitched onto the Wrecker's shoulder. KC and Cola picked up on some of it, and both backed away.

"_Milk my dudsth_, that feels thso weird!" exclaimed KC, feeling his chest as it subsided, lisping as was habit. Vanellope gave him a look.

"Why do you only lisp sometimes?" she asked, glitching down in front of him. KC jumped.

"Well, to make you and your brother laugh, of course! The same reason why the castle is decorated wit ha certain color."

"You mean pink?" asks Vanellope skeptically.

"It's not pink, it's salmon." corrects Cola.

"Pink."

"Salmon."

"Pink!"

"Salmon!

"Pink!"

"Salmon!"

"Both of you are wrong!" interjects KC, drawing the quarreling Royals attention. "It's not pink, and it's not salmon. It's thalmon." the twins blinked at him. Once, twice. . . .before they burst out laughing! KC took the pack off his back once it had subsided, taking out the ruined present. Cola plucked it from his hands, turning it over in his hands thoughtfully.

"I have an idea. . ." he mumbled, closing his eyes tight and gritting his teeth. He glitched a dark blue, and the present suddenly swooshed high into the air, a literal purple and gold striped rocket, glitching dark blue and trailing pixels. It blew into bits with a bang and sound like shattering glass. Everyone jumped, and Cola let himself fall on his back, snow-angel style.

The bits drew together when they touched down, forming a box shape next to Cola and solidifying into it's former shape, all repaired. Cola sat up and took it in his hands.

"That actually worked. Cool." he handed it over to his still-surprised grandfather. The king opened it and drew out a small pair glasses with gold rims. He blinked down at them before grinning at his grandson.

"My reading glasses. Thanks, you little dwarf." Vanellope creeped up on him from the side, and tackled him with a shout. With a yelp and flash of purple binary, KC . . . . . . . . .disappeared. Vanellope looked up from her position on the ground. King Candy was nowhere to be seen.

"What just happened?" squeaked Vanellope fearfully. Cola scampered over to her, pulling her to her feet and holding her hand.

"Jiminy Jaminy, as if keeping up with your glitch-powers was hard enough!" mumbled Felix, platform-jumping onto a gumdrop to get a better view of the area.

* * *

_Meanwhile . . . . . . . ._

KC yelped as he was suddenly falling. It was only a foot or so, and he took a moment to get his breath back before looking around. He was. . . .back at the castle. . .? What? How did he get there? He was last at Diet Cola Mountain. . . . he stood and started out, thinking that he was going to get this straightened out.

When a another glitch rolled through him, and in another flash of purple binary, he disappeared.

* * *

**Well, at least I sorta figured out KC's special glitch ability. If anyone has anything to add to it, please review me about it. Please review!**

**~Keep Calm and Soar On - Moon and Sun~**

**~Keep Calm and Race On - The von Schweetz~**


End file.
